Most of the Detroit Tigers' offseason signings have aged well. Jack Flaherty is a lynchpin in their rotation, Gleyber Torres has excelled with a change of scenery, and Tommy Kahnle has been unbelievable late in games. The Alex Cobb signing, however, has not paid off at all yet, and based on his latest update, Tigers fans might not get to see him in a Detroit uniform at all.
Cobb has missed the entire season since signing a one-year, $15 million deal with the Tigers due to a right hip injury, and was finally able to make his first rehab start on Friday. Based on what manager A.J. Hinch had to say, it did not go well.
"I don't think he's feeling great physically," manager A.J. Hinch said Saturday, May 31, less than 24 hours after Cobb's outing. "I haven't spoken to him directly, but the information coming back is that he's still battling a lot. I applaud him for what he's trying to do because he's pitching through a lot of discomfort."
This is the last thing Tigers fans wanted to hear. Cobb was able to throw two scoreless innings for High-A West Michigan, but if he didn't come out of that start feeling healthy, there's probably a good chance he'll get shut down again. If that ends up happening, well, there's reason to believe his career is on the brink.
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Alex Cobb might be on the verge of retirement based on latest injury update
Shortly after signing his deal with the Tigers, Cobb revealed that he contemplated retirement and was "a bit surprised" by the interest he received in free agency. Ultimately, the offer he got from Detroit was too good to pass on, but Tigers fans can now see why Cobb, an oft-injured 37-year-old, was seemingly on the verge of hanging up the spikes after last season.
Cobb was limited to just five starts last season, two of which came in the postseason. He pitched well, but considering his age and injury history, it was fairly surprising to see the Tigers be as aggressive as they were when it came to signing him.
Their rotation has been fine this season, thanks in large part to Casey Mize's emergence, but recent injuries to Jackson Jobe and Reese Olson have made the Tigers miss Cobb a ton. Tigers fans thought Cobb was on the mend, but this update sounds like a brutal one.
At 38-21, this Tigers team is clearly in good shape even without Cobb, but this was one of their biggest signings of the winter. They expected him to play a big role. Realizing that he might not even be able to pitch at all is tough for Tigers fans to come to terms with.