The Tampa Bay Rays have a surplus of starting pitching even after trading Nathan Karns to the Seattle Mariners earlier this offseason. One of their best starters, Alex Cobb, won't be back until August as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, but rumors suggest MLB clubs are still inquiring about the right-hander.
"There's quite a bit of interest in Cobb, but the Rays are likely to hold on to their pitching for now," writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. "They boast a very good rotation with Chris Archer, Cobb, Matt Moore, Jake Odorizzi, and Drew Smyly, with Erasmo Ramirez as the sixth man."
Trade rumors from earlier in the offseason found the Chicago Cubs were interested in Cobb as the two sides were reportedly discussing deals involving young Cubs players Javier Baez and Jorge Soler. Chicago, despite making a number of significant moves this offseason, is still in need of starting pitching.
Cobb wouldn't provide immediate relief, but the Cubs must look beyond 2016 because Jason Hammel will become a free agent after this year and there will be a need in the rotation. Cobb, 28, is under club control through 2017 and is arguably the next best pitcher on the Rays behind Archer.
The right-hander is 35-23 with a 3.21 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 426 strikeouts in 81 career starts (498-2/3 innings) over four MLB seasons.
Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com recently reported that the Cubs contacted the Rays again about their pitching and outfield surplus.
Then again, there are a number of other MLB teams that could use Cobb besides the Cubs. Cafardo doesn't mention anyone specifically, but it's possible the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals and others could also be potential suitors based on their current situations.
The Dodgers' rotation is beyond full right now and they have some pitching prospects on the way, but one can never rule out the Andrew Friedman link to Tampa. Los Angeles was said to be interested in Rays' starter Jake Odorizzi earlier in the offseason, but now that the club has signed Kenta Maeda and Scott Kazmir, there's definitely less of an immediate need.
However, with Cobb slated to come back in August, the Dodgers (if they were to work out a deal) could use him a bit in late 2016 and then prepare to give him a rotation spot in 2017 when Brett Anderson departs in free agency. Cobb could also be an extension candidate due to his current situation (he'll be entering his third year of arbitration eligibility next offseason and won't have much to show for at that point), so maybe the Dodgers feel that could be a good investment. Cobb probably wouldn't mind financial security after having to undergo reconstructive elbow surgery at an inopportune point in his career.
As for the others, the Rangers could use another quality starter after letting Yovani Gallardo walk in free agency; the Minnesota Twins figure to compete for years to come with their young core, and with a talented farm system it could be in their best interests to upgrade the rotation; and the Cardinals lost Lackey to the Cubs and it's unclear what players will round off their rotation in 2016 and beyond.
Then again, Cubs' general manager Jed Hoyer recently said his team matches up well with the Rays in a trade and something could come to fruition down the road. While that's not indicative of anything, something "down the road" might mean the Cubs are tracking Cobb's recovery to see if a deal is worthwhile.
It's all speculation at this point, but the aforementioned clubs could be landing spots for Cobb as the Rays might again deal from their surplus of starters.
