Veteran pitcher Alex Cobb announced Saturday that he will not pitch for the Detroit Tigers this season after more setbacks with a hip injury he sustained back in February. Cobb, 37, has been diagnosed with arthritis in his right hip, which had become too painful to pitch through, as he found out in his rehab starts throughout the summer.
Cobb announced that he has opted to have season ending surgery.
Cobb threw 20.2 innings this season between High-A and AAA with a combined ERA of 1.74. Things seemed like they may have been back on track, until an early September start delivered more pain that he decided he just couldn’t pitch through, at least effectively.
According to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press, Cobb says that he isn’t ready to retire yet, though he realizes that it is a real possibility at this point in his career.
He hasn’t pitched a full MLB season since 2023 with San Francisco. He started just three games with Cleveland in 2024.
In his 13-year MLB career, Cobb has a record of 79-76 as a starter, has a career 3.84 ERA and has struck out 1,108 batters in 1,327 innings pitched.
Cobb signed a one-year, $15 million contract with Detroit in the offseason.
Cobb Delivers a Statement After Shutting Season Down
Cobb delivered a long statement after he opted to have season ending surgery, stating “I feel like I owe fans and everybody an explanation.”
“I went into the offseason and felt great,” Cobb wrote. “…I was in zero pain. I signed with the Tigers. I did my physical. I passed. Everything felt good. Three weeks, four weeks later I’m ramping up and getting off the mound and doing full-go in my training, just like any other offseason. I literally woke up one day and couldn’t walk.”
Cobb had every intention of being a part of the Tigers this season, he was just dealt a bad hand with the timing of his arthritis inflammation.
“I can handle the pain. I can handle pain easily. It’s when the pain and the stuff aren’t matching up, and then you’re unable to overcome the pain and have quality outings and what it takes to be at the big league level.”
“I had a clear answer walking off the mound that it wasn’t going to work, and I’ve done everything I could, and that was the best it was going to get, and that wasn’t an acceptable product to put on the field.”
Tigers Could Have Used Cobb This Season
Although the Tigers are having a historic season, their pitching outside of Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal has been inconsistent. Cobb has been a great three or four in rotations his entire career, a role the Tigers would have greatly benefitted from.
Jack Flaherty and Casey Mize are the only other pitchers that have remained healthy for most of the season, and they have ERA’s of 4.85 and 3.87, respectively. Not ideal numbers.
Cobb’s depth and reliability could have done wonders for this rotation, especially in October. Now, the guys Detroit has will have to find a way to get the job done.
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