As the recent trade of Jose Iglesias to the Angels indicates, the Orioles are open to moving any veteran on their roster, particularly those making a significant salary. Alex Cobb (owed $15MM in 2021) certainly qualifies as a trade candidate, though GM Mike Elias suggested to MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski and other reporters that the Orioles could keep the 33-year-old righty at least into the start of the season. “I have no doubt if he pitches like Alex Cobb, he’s going to draw interest and we’re going to ultimately see where we’re at and see what the situation is….I think it would be beneficial for us to go into the season with Alex if that’s the way that it shakes out and having that front end spot in the rotation fortified with his ability and veteran presence,” Elias said.
Cobb signed a four-year, $57MM deal just prior to the start of the 2018 season, and after struggling in 2018 and missing almost all of 2019 due to injury, Cobb had solid bottom-line numbers over 10 starts this past season. The right-hander posted a 4.30 ERA, 2.11 K/BB rate, 54.5% grounder rate, and 6.5 K/9 over 52 1/3 innings, though Statcast was thoroughly unimpressed by his performance. Those metrics and Cobb’s hefty salary certainly limit his trade value at the moment, so it makes sense that the O’s would see if he can perform better in the early stages of the 2021 campaign in order to possibly leverage him as a trade chip at the deadline. If Cobb can’t be moved but is able to duplicate his 2020 results, Baltimore would at least benefit (as Elias noted) from a dependable arm on the mound.
Here are some other items from both the AL and NL East…
- The Mets have been linked to just about every big name free agent this winter, though The New York Post’s Joel Sherman wonders if the team might take a more measured approach to its winter shopping. Rather than splurge on any of the “big four” free agents (Trevor Bauer, George Springer, J.T. Realmuto, and DJ LeMahieu), Sherman opines that New York could direct its resources towards “dominating the second tier” of the market. Such roster upgrades would still make the team better “while potentially saving money and prospects for the July trade market — and beyond.” Signing James McCann rather than Realmuto could be a hint that the team is deploying such a tactic, though the other school of thought suggests that McCann was signed so the Mets could save some money for a bigger push to land Bauer or Springer.
- After undergoing Tommy John surgery in September 2019, Blue Jays left-hander Tim Mayza is looking forward to returning to action in Spring Training, The Toronto Star’s Laura Armstrong writes. Mayza’s rehab was more complicated the normal TJ recovery process, as Mayza had to also recover from a torn flexor tendon (suffered at the same time as his UCL tear) and spend much of his time working out at home rather than at team facilities due to the COVID-19 lockdown. If that wasn’t enough, Mayza tested positive for the coronavirus this fall, though he was thankfully asymptomatic during his two weeks of quarantine. “Although it’s been different, my rehab was not stalled at all through all this,” Mayza said. “I’ve continued to stay on track and the end goal of being 100 per cent by spring training is very much a realistic goal.” Mayza has a 4.67 ERA, 2.71 K/BB rate, 48.6% grounder rate, and 10.6 K/9 over 104 innings with Toronto from 2017-19, and he has held left-handed batters to a .217/.288/.349 slash line over 208 plate appearances. With a lack of southpaw relief options on the Jays’ 40-man roster, there is certainly opportunity for Mayza to win a job if he looks good in camp.
- The Mets’ signing of McCann took the catching market’s second-best option off the board, further limiting the free agent choices for teams in need of help behind the plate. The Nationals are one of those clubs, and as Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com writes, “they’re either going to have to spend well north of $100MM on Realmuto or hope one of the remaining lesser options is good enough” if the Nats turn to free agency for catching help. Realmuto might be out of the picture given the indications that the Nationals aren’t planning on any big spending this offseason, though since Washington still has Yan Gomes, the team might decide that a platoon partner is all that is required at catcher.
The entire NY media needs to just go away. Signing Mccann signals signing either Bauer or Springer, not living on whatever 2nd tier you can find this off-season.
BTW, a Cobb for Odor deal wouldn’t be the worst thing the Rangers have ever done, but I don’t want it lol.
O’s don’t need to bring that kind of cancer to their ballclub.
just because he punches people doesnt mean he’s a cancerous personality.
The history of professional sports suggests you might be correct.
Did I say it was because he punches people? Nice assumption. Incorrect assumption but nice.
Maybe it’s his laziness on defense. Maybe it’s his constant anger issues when a pitch is within 6 inches of him. Maybe it’s the fact he over-celebrated a meaningless home run down by about 15 or so. A head case who’s regressing and causes trouble. Cancer.
^ this
So you are saying it’s NOT because Odor hits between .200-.210?
That’s a strong Oder
Darkside was just joking, dude.
The humor you are referring to is a myth.
I wonder why the O’s let Alberto walk? He was doing well for them. The Twins also let Rosario walk as well. This are mistakes that they’ll both regret. Both have proven to be good and reliable players.
$$
Maybe Springer and Odorizzi
ExactlySame thing I thought as soon as I read this
If anyone wants a good laugh, go read the comments from when Alex Cobb signed with the orioles in 2018. I can’t believe some people thought that was a good deal at the time. I remember those people that thought collusion was a thing and they say things like a team of these free agents make the playoffs! That team had Cobb as the number two starter.
Cobb is 7-22 with a 5.10 era over the last 3 years as well as being 33 years old now. Orioles would have to eat money in any trade. Might as well though they won’t be doing anything in 2021 except competing for the #1 draft pick in 2022.
I don’t know how familiar you are with NY media or Joel Sherman, but Sherman pumps this garbage out 24/7/365. He’s been at it for decades. He wildly speculates and proposes asinine and outlandish trades. You can completely ignore any article of that sort that he writes.
He does, however, when he decides to report rather than speculate, put out some good articles on transactions or breaking news.
@rct To his credit, in his article about 2nd tier spending, Sherman makes it clear that he’s speculating.
Rangers29…..Maybe just pay less attention to NY sports news media?
Sports talk media often has the tact,class, and prudence of the loud drunk booing when he clearly sees via replay that his team will lose a ruling on the field.
Ignore them as much as one can, but unfortunately many fans listen to them. Asking an entire media platform (even in jest) covering the most populous city in the U.S. is imprudent.
*asking the media to go away* is imprudent
Cobb to Angels. They struck once with Bundy. Cobb also makes exactly what the Angels would want to pay him in free agency anyway.
Mayza injury was horrific and hope for the best for him. He was effective against lefties and could be affected with the new rules. A return to the mound is a big step considering the injury he suffered. Very hard to watch live.
Angels would never pay $15m/yr for Cobb. Any team taking him is telling the O’s to send a briefcase of cash too. $15m/yr could sign a better FA starter and another reliever or a C like Casali or Ramos.
It was sarcasm but let’s not pretend the Angels are fiscally responsible.
It is actually within the realm of what the old Angels regime would try to do so…!
I don’t see the Angels going after Cobb unless the Os paid 10m of the 15m per year. I don’t see the Os doing that. I think his W/L is tainted based on the team he had supporting his outings. It’s the injury that worries me.
i dont see why we’re acting like WSH needs JT. they won a world series with Suzuki, who will be much cheaper.
I still would like Suzuki back on the Braves for backup instead of Flowers, And your right about WSH
While I agree, that lineup also had Rendon. Nats could certainly use another bat.
Rendon posted a 151 OPS+. Kendrick also posted a 143 OPS+.
So the loss of offense from both those guys points to clear offensive needs. I understand them wanting to see how the young guys develop on the inf, but they need to find major offense somewhere. JTR makes a ton of sense in Washington. Finding offense behind the dish may allow them to fill those corner spots cheaply.
Suzuki is still useful at the plate but not so much behind it. If the Nats are not in the market for Realmutto they’d be better off with someone like Curt Casali to pair with Gomes.
Let’s not
I always liked Mayza. Good player, good teammate. I am looking forward to seeing him pitch again.
I think Tim Mayza is a guy who could’ve had a long solid career if it weren’t for the 3 batter rule. Thanks to that rule, I wouldn’t bet on him making the roster.
Yeah, what a shame. You have to be able to pitch to THREE consecutive batters to be able to call yourself a REAL MLB relief pitcher.
Jesse Orosco’s career would’ve been a decade shorter.
It’s a good rule if you’re right handed, though.
I think Iglesias’s .373 Batting Average last year is really underrated. I mean granted it was only in 170-something ABs but still it was VERY impressive. And couple that with his exceptional defense and the Angels could quite possibly have made one of the better acquisitions of the off-season. Especially considering he’s set to only make $3M this year. If he can hit at even a fraction of the level he did last year, while continuing his gold-glove caliber defense he could wind up being a HUGE asset either towards helping the Angels actually make a playoff push OR as a big time trade deadline candidate. I’ve always been a fan of Iglesias and feel like he really has never gotten the respect he deserves. He’s been up and down at times BUT I think he could surprise everyone this season and wind up hitting like .320+ with 10-15 HRs (he hit 11 — career high in 2019 and seems to have made some serious offensive adjustments since 2018) — I’m definitely a fan of his and he seems like an incredibly hard worker who really puts in the effort to improve any area of his game that’s lacking. I’m predicting a “breakout” season for him this year. (I know “breakout” isn’t really the right word for a 31-year old veteran… but I just think he’s going to really have a strong year and maybe finally get more attention/respect for how solid of a player he is and how hard he works to improve his game)
He’s a pretty good player no doubt but his BABIP last season was .407 compared to a career .303. That batting average isn’t close to being sustainable with his career 4.4% BB rate. He got lucky and found some groundball holes.
Yeah, there’s no way he will be able to keep up with his 2020 numbers. Iglesias will probably play like an average shortstop this year.
An average SS for around 3 million is a good asset to have though
I agree to some extent BUT — he has actually had higher than average BABIP’s in several season’s past. Granted there’s no way he keeps up a .407 (or anywhere near it BABIP) BUT when he first came into the league scouts never expected him to really hit more than like .250-.260 — they essentially said that all of his value would come from his glove… then he went on to hit over .300 in 2 of his first 3 seasons. I’m not saying he’s going to hit anywhere near .370 next season BUT I think he’s actually made tangible improvements to increase the amount of hard contact he makes and as such I do think he will post a BABIP better than his career mark of .303 — it just won’t quite be as extreme as the .407 he posted last year. However given how much more hard contact he’s been making… I wouldn’t be shocked to see him increase his BABIP by 15-25 points and as such… post a Batting Average north of .310 — admittedly I could just as easily be wrong and he could regress back to his .275-.280 form… but either way for just $3M with his excellent defense… he’ll be a solid addition to the Angels one way or another!
^ this
Iglesias was a great get; love his D. But he’s a career 88 OPS+ player for his career. I’m betting his ‘20 offense stats are a complete fluke.
he’d be in the lineup that is one of the best. he will also be in a great defense.
There is an interesting article on Iglesias’ odd stat line this year on mlb web site.
Iglesias came up and everyone said he was all glove no offense.
He certainly has an excellent glove, but his hitting is decent. He has good speed, seldom strikes out and gets hits. Very little power, but will hit one out occasionally. That’s what kills his ops+.
The combination of glove and keeping the ball in play… he is a great addition to a solid lineup.
Exactly.
It was certainly understandable last year that the Nats felt they couldn’t afford to keep both mega-priced Strasburg AND Rendon. But this year, if they could get JTR for something north of half of what Rendon got last year, they’d be filling a critical need – at a very difficult to fill position – for massively less money than Rendon would have cost them. This is a win-now team and they should bid for JTR – he might just be able to restore much of what was lost last year when they couldn’t keep their star 3rd baseman – and he’ll be considerably more affordable.
I think the Mets signing McCann just deflated JTRs number quite a bit. Im doubting he gets “well north of 100m” now because of it. Almost nobody wants to spend right now thanks to past financial hits and future uncertainties, so JTRs small amount of suitors just got even smaller.
Sherman report wasn’t a rumor btw. He just thinks that they should do that. Don’t listen to him
On a chilly -17C morning in Old Saskatchewan, here is a shoutout to all Blue Jays fans across Canada and around the world! Stay home, stay safe, wash you’re hands and wear a mask!!!! Stay positive, good things will soon happen for the team and us it’s fans!!!! All Teams take notice, The Blue Jays are gonna make some noise!!!
GO JAYS GO!!!
FEAR THE TRUE NORTH!!!
Thanks for the laugh
You in the wobbly pops on a Monday morning?
Go Jays!
7C on Van Isle.
Not gonna stay home. Gonna go throw some baseballs against a backstop!
And probably return home to 3 new Jays rumours.
Blue Jays rising to #1. Because Tony.
Go Jays!
The issue with Cobb’s contract is 20M in deferrals the O’s will have to eat.; even 2021 (15M) involves 10M for the year with 5M deferred. Impossible contract to dump unless they eat most f it.
That said, I can see some team taking a shot with Cobb….contract year, didn’t look horrible at the end last year…..they might be able to salvage something.
Orioles should trade Cobb now while he has a decent ERA and WHIP. No need to risk him getting injured and I doubt he improves his stats much more than last year (if at all).
The Nats have several holes to fill. They have Gomes behind the plate, so all they need there is a backup/platoonmate, maybe someone like Avila, Leon or Zunino. Rather see them spend that JTR money on a corner OF bat, who can protect Soto, and a #4SP..
soto and trea are free agent for another 4/3 years. They will be prepared with lots of contracts coming off. As a nat fan if they let bot go i will jump of a cliff. for a 4 starter they should get taijuan walker or chris archer
Eddie Rosario or Joc Petersen would be a good replacement for Adam Eaton and probably cost about the same.
I don’t get the obsession with Rosario. He was released for a reason. Can’t be part of a winning teams plan A.
Rosario or Pederson will need a RH bat to start for them vs lefties. A Duvall or Pillar type.
I guess this gives me hope Matt Boyd may still have some trade value.. if so.. please trade him before may.
Hopefully the Mets won’t have to change their name in the future because most Democrats don’t know what a metropolitan is.
It’s weird, right?? It’s like the world changes or something. A name has the power to offend others, and that inoffensive offense has the power to offend you.
Ah, the abstruse swinishness of anyone thinking the major political parties are all that different.
Rangers would likely happily offer Odor for Cobb. Hey we will even throw Liles in for free. Lol
so much for shopping in “the gourmet aisle”.
“Are The Mets Planning On “Dominating The Second Tier” Of Free Agent Market?”
—Of course they are. They threw away $6.5m on Matz and Gsellman, which will be the difference between a 2nd tier and 1st tier FA and would have been the difference between Trevor May (who is only a hair better than Justin Wilson, in spite of the sexy Ks) and Liam Hendriks.
Typical Sandy “Three bets and two pair of suspenders” Alderson. Only Alderson could be handed $80 million and failed to add premium front line talent beyond perhaps one player.