Orioles right-hander Alex Cobb will miss the remainder of the 2019 season due to season-ending hip surgery, general manager Mike Elias announced to reporters Tuesday (Twitter links via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com). The operation will fix an impingement in his right hip, and Kubatko adds that Cobb might also undergo a procedure on his knee.
Cobb, 31, is in the second season of a four-year, $57MM contract that has blown up in Baltimore’s face to this point. The longtime Rays right-hander got out to a poor start in 2018 but at least gave the club some cause for optimism when he posted a 2.59 ERA and 42-to-18 K/BB ratio in 66 innings down the stretch. That solid stretch of games was only enough to push his overall ERA to 4.90, though, and he was limited to 12 1/3 innings due to a lumbar strain in 2019 prior to today’s announcement.
In all, Cobb has given the Orioles 164 2/3 innings of 5.34 ERA ball over the course of 31 starts since signing his deal. A decent showing in the first half of the year might’ve been enough to allow the Orioles to shed a portion of his contract’s remainder, but that now looks all but impossible. The O’s will have to hope that Cobb can return to health in 2020, if for no other reason than to help soak up innings for a club that is quite thin in terms up upper-level pitching depth in the minors.
Cobb is still set to be paid $14MM in 2020 and $15MM in 2021, but a portion of those salaries are deferred and will be paid out in annual increments from 2023-32.
The replacements havent fared any worse. Cobb contract is a huge mistake
Remember when people cited him as one of the reasons free agency was broken and teams were using collusion.
Good point, it was the media pushing that narrative. Radio silence on Cobb now lol
Excellent point
This injury probably means Orioles will be sellers at deadline. Probably be forced to sell high on Trumbo and Davis. Too bad, championship window has to close so soon.
Were the Orioles ever going to be buyers in 2019?
I see what you did there.
Cobb has turned into another Zimmerman with detroit. I thought both would be decent pitchers when the deals were signed and both have been busts.
Thank god the Brewers decided to pass on this guy. Matt Garza 2.0
Except the Brewers offered him a contract and they were lucky that he turned it down.
nothing around the range of that the mighty O’s did
He would have done decent in the NL i think but in the AL East, the hitters feasted when he was in BAL
Also Baltimore stadium turns a can of corn into a dinger.
He was successful in Tampa. Same rate of HR’s and it’s the AL East. His problems were signing late last year and health this year.
If you look at his stats the 2nd half of last year when he got acclimated he was good. link to baseball-reference.com
2.56 ERA in 10 starts after the All Star game is pretty good.
More fuel to the Orioles’ fire…….
*dumpster
A dumpster fire seems too small and controllable compared to what’s happening in Baltimore lol
A dump ground fire?
Wild fire?
Getting warmer…
Needing to defer part of $29M over 9 years is just……the O’s. LOL
Bobby B approves
Bobby Bonilla Day right around the corner
not exactly. in bobby’s case, his money was differed with interest (hell, either the o’s actually owe him one last payment this year or it finally ended last year).
in cobb’s case, none of it has interest (same with chris davis). seems like he wanted to be able to say he got a $50 million contract, even if, when adjusted for inflation, won’t be anywhere close (rays thanks the o’s for that, though, since it got them an extra first round pick)