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Tigers Veteran Alex Cobb Knows More Operations Loom To Ensure Normal Life

Originally posted on Detroit Tigers on SI
By Kenneth Teape | Last updated Aug 9, 2025 8:00 AM ET

This past offseason, the Detroit Tigers signed veteran starting pitching Alex Cobb to help bolster the rotation for their starting rotation.

He signed a one-year, $15 million deal with the team, which is the same kind of deal they have handed out in recent years. It has been a long time since the Tigers committed long-term money to a starting pitcher, opting for short-term deals instead.

In the past, these are deals that have panned out for Detroit.

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Eduardo Rodriguez and Jack Flaherty both provided the team with incredible value on short-term deals, but the same cannot be said about Cobb to this point.

He has yet to take the mound for the team, dealing with inflammation in his hip since spring training.

Right when things look to be getting on track, another ailment pops up that derails his rehab and delays when he could make his debut with the team.

The Tigers knew the risks when signing him in free agency since Cobb made only three starts during the 2024 regular season and two in the postseason with the Cleveland Guardians after being acquired from the San Francisco Gaints ahead of the 2024 MLB trade deadline.

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His lack of participation this year certainly isn’t from not trying. Cobb has been doing everything he can to join his teammates, as he wants to contribute, no matter how small, to what he feels is a legitimate contender.

Alex Cobb Faces a Long Road to Recovery after Playing Days are Over

To try and return, he has been undergoing injections and procedures all season, so many that he isn’t comfortable even sharing the exact amount, per Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic (subscription required).

“I’m not just shoving drugs into my system,” Cobb said. “I’m doing a lot of biologic injections, which come from my own blood, my own body. I feel a lot more comfortable with that. I know it looks a little questionable on paper. Those injections that I’ve had have given me hope.”

There is certainly a chance the condition which he is dealing with in his hips will be the end of the his Major League career.

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It is something he thought about a lot over the winter before any teams even called him expressing an interest in signing him.

Of course, this isn’t the way he wants things to end.

Ideally, he would go out on his own terms. He is using this as motivation to get back on the mound, knowing the end of his career draws near.

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Alas, regardless of what happens this year, he knows that more surgeries loom in the near future.

“Whatever happens, Cobb said he will eventually need a hip procedure to ensure he can live a normal, mobile life,” Stavenhagen wrote.

This could very well be his last chance to make an impact at the Major League level, and he will do everything in his power to get back out there.

This article first appeared on Detroit Tigers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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