Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch (14) walks off the field after a pitching change against Minnesota Twins during the eighth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit in Monday, August 4, 2025. Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Tigers' Questionable Offseason Signing Has Become Terrible Decision

Originally posted on Detroit Tigers on SI
By Nick Ziegler | Last updated Aug 15, 2025 4:01 PM ET

Even though the Detroit Tigers are heading toward winning the American League Central, there are justifiably some concerns about the team this season.

It was a fantastic first half of the year for the Tigers. They jumped out of the gates with a ton of momentum, and the team was firing on all cylinders. The offense, especially, was a massive surprise, with multiple hitters coming out of nowhere and having great starts to the campaign.

Unfortunately, as the team has cooled down, some areas of concern have popped up.

The starting rotation has been hit hard by injuries, resulting in the team having a lot of uncertainty about what a potential rotation might look like come October behind Tarik Skubal.

Because of that, when looking back at some of the offseason decisions made by the front office, there are some that have negatively impacted them now.

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently wrote about Alex Cobb being one of the most overpaid players in baseball this season, especially considering he hasn’t pitched a single game.

The decision to sign Cobb was a bit of a puzzling one to start for the Tigers this past winter.

After making just a couple of starts for the Cleveland Guardians in 2024, Detroit signed the right-hander to a one-year, $15 million deal.

Do Tigers Regret Signing Alex Cobb?

Not only was he overpaid, but this is proving to be a terrible decision by the Tigers since he literally hasn't done a single thing for them this season.

Investing that type of money into a pitcher who barely played in 2024 at his age made little sense then, and it certainly isn't working out now.

At the trade deadline, Detroit added two more veteran starters to help provide some depth by acquiring Chris Paddack and Charlie Morton. Those moves were likely an indicator that the team doesn't believe they will be getting anything productive out of Cobb for the remainder of the year.

When looking at where the money was spent for the Tigers this pats winter, that was certainly the most questionable allocation of funds. Money that went to Cobb easily could have been redirected toward Alex Bregman to help bring in the star third baseman.

Overall, not only is the right-hander one of the most overpaid players in baseball, but he has been one of the worst signings from this past winter.