Report: Cubs still pursuing Alex Cobb |
The Chicago Cubs are still trying to bolster their starting rotation despite signing Tyler Chatwood to a three-year deal this week.
"We have plenty more work to do,” Theo Epstein said after signing Chatwood. "We are certainly not done. The focus of the winter has been pitching. We need to continue to add to the rotation and retool the bullpen to a certain extent." Cubs insider Bruce Levine is reporting that the Cubs are continuing their push to sign starting pitcher Alex Cobb to round out their rotation. "The rumors on a Cobb-Cubs marriage have been out there for several months, and with the Winter Meetings starting Monday, Chicago would like land Cobb as quickly as possible to avoid any traps and new suitors that may await in the next week," Levine said. "Agreeing to a deal with Cobb before Monday would also give the Cubs more leverage during the Winter Meetings because they wouldn’t be as desperate to fill a rotation spot." Most reports have Cobb's agent asking for a four-year deal and one of the main threats to the Cubs for his services are the New York Yankees. However, Cobb to the Cubs makes a ton of sense since his former pitching coach Jim Hickey and his first major league manager Joe Maddon reside in the North Side. Having played his entire seven-year career with the Tampa Bay Rays and finished the 2017 season with a 12-10 record with 3.66 ERA, 128 strikeouts, and 1.22 WHIP (10th in AL). For his career, he has a 48-35 record with 3.50 ERA, 570 strikeouts, and 1.22 WHIP. He was drafted by Tampa Bay in the fourth round of the 2006 MLB Draft.
