Alex Cobb talks about signing free-agent contract with Detroit Tigers
Right-hander Alex Cobb talks to reporters on Dec. 12, 2024, about signing with the Detroit Tigers for the 2025 season.
The Detroit Tigers signed right-hander Alex Cobb to a one-year, $15 million contract in free agency.
He will never throw a pitch wearing the Old English “D.”
Cobb, who turns 38 in early October, announced Saturday, Sept. 6, that he won’t pitch for the Tigers in 2025, opting for season-ending surgery on his right hip. He isn’t ready to retire from his 13-year MLB career, but it’s trending in that direction.
“I’ve talked to some family, and I can’t utter those words quite yet,” Cobb said Saturday afternoon on a video call from his home in Arizona, when asked about retirement. “Obviously, I realize that that’s a big possibility.”
The right hip injury occurred in early February, roughly one week before pitchers and catchers reported to spring training.
Cobb hasn’t been healthy since.
He pitched through pain in both hips with the goal of eventually joining the Tigers, appearing in 10 games with High-A West Michigan and Triple-A Toledo over four rehab assignments. He finally realized he couldn’t keep going after his outing Tuesday, Sept. 2, with the Mud Hens.
Cobb will undergo resurfacing surgery on his right hip.
“Just to be able to function well and get back to being able run and to go on hikes with my family and being able to golf again — all the things that you want to do,” said Cobb, who could need left hip surgery in the future. “You just want to be pain-free. My next step is getting myself as healthy as I can. The game has beaten me up over the years, and I just need to get as healthy as I can to be the best dad I can be and to enjoy life.”
In early December, the Tigers signed Cobb to a one-year deal — luring him away from a potential retirement with their interest in free agency. He passed the physical exam required to complete the signing.
Scott Harris, the Tigers’ president of baseball operations, had a past relationship with Cobb from their time together with the San Francisco Giants in 2019.
“I was in zero pain,” Cobb said.
By early February, Cobb suffered the hip injury that ultimately ended his season without throwing a pitch for the Tigers.
Cobb explained what happened.
One day, he woke up and “literally couldn’t walk.”
“I laughed it off at the time,” Cobb said. “I was like, ‘I probably need to start taking my anti-inflammatories earlier this year.'”
He then sent medical images of his right hip to his former hip surgeon, Dr. Marc Philippon, who practices in Vail, Colorado. He previously underwent right hip surgery in June 2019, followed by left hip surgery in October 2023.
“We had talked about my right hip, and he had told me something in the future was going to happen,” Cobb said. “I kind of didn’t even pay attention to it. When I sent him the imagines, I could hear it in his voice.”
“I’m so sorry for the pain you’re in,” Dr. Philippon said.
“I’m fine,” Cobb said. “I think I’m going to be fine.”
That’s when Cobb learned he had arthritis in his right hip — something he didn’t expect when he signed with the Tigers.
“You could tell that he knew that I wasn’t going to be fine,” Cobb said, referencing his conversation with Dr. Philippon. “From what I’ve found out is that you wake up one day and it just goes. Something in the cartilage collapses, and it basically turns into the ball of hip joint is bone on bone, and there’s really no way to fix it.”
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In early September, Cobb embarked on his fourth rehab assignment after nine days without appearing in a game.
He took the mound as a reliever in the fourth inning Tuesday for Toledo, facing the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. He was supposed to pitch two innings, but he only completed one — one hit, three walks and just 11 of 24 pitches for strikes.
“As I was walking off the mound, I knew I couldn’t go back out for a second (inning),” Cobb said. “I felt like once I went in the dugout, and I told them, ‘I can’t go back out,’ the writing was on the wall for me.”
Manager A.J. Hinch praised Cobb for his effort over the past seven months to contribute to the Tigers.
After all, Cobb went above and beyond to pitch in the big leagues again, specifically for the Tigers. All the injections, all the bullpens, all the rehab outings.
It just didn’t happen.
“We got to see all that he went through to try to play,” Hinch said. “A lot of respect for Alex and his commitment to try to do anything he could to not just get back on the mound, but to contribute to this team. He did contribute. I’ve talked to him a lot during the year that he is contributing.”
If this is the end, Cobb registered a 3.84 ERA in his MLB career, spanning 1,327â…” innings. He pitched all 233 games as a starter without ever coming out of the bullpen.
He played for five teams, making the All-Star Game in 2023: Tampa Bay Rays (2011-14, 2016-17), Baltimore Orioles (2018-20), Los Angeles Angels (2021), San Francisco Giants (2022-23) and Cleveland Guardians (2024).
But Cobb never pitched for the Tigers.
“I’m disappointed,” Cobb said, reflecting on his 2025 season. “I’ve known with my mind the uphill battle that I was going to have this year once I had this happen to me, but in my heart, I’ve envisioned being on that mound and pitching in the postseason. It’s been a gut punch of not being able to do it.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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