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FanSided Offseason Simulation: Phillies sign Alex Cobb, two others

By John Town

ST. PETERSBURG, FL - SEPTEMBER 16: Pitcher Alex Cobb #53 of the Tampa Bay Rays comes in to speak with home plate umpire Jeff Nelson #45 after Nelson sent Andrew Benintendi of the Boston Red Sox to second base on a balk during the sixth inning of a game on September 16, 2017 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - SEPTEMBER 16: Pitcher Alex Cobb #53 of the Tampa Bay Rays comes in to speak with home plate umpire Jeff Nelson #45 after Nelson sent Andrew Benintendi of the Boston Red Sox to second base on a balk during the sixth inning of a game on September 16, 2017 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images) /
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The Phillies made a splash in the FanSided Offseason free agent market, signing starter Alex Cobb, reliever Tommy Hunter, and outfielder Seth Smith.

DISCLAIMER: The events in this article are part of FanSided’s MLB Winter Meetings offseason simulation and in no way reflect real events.

The first official signings at the FanSided MLB Winter Meetings started coming out Tuesday, and the Phillies made a significant splash in the market. GM John Town signed starter Alex Cobb, reliever Tommy Hunter, and outfielder Seth Smith.

Philadelphia was rumored to be after Cobb, the former Ray, well before the offseason even began. He plugs a gaping hole in the rotation as the new veteran, replacing Jeremy Hellickson. Cobb signed a four-year, $60 million contract with the Phils.

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Cobb has spent his entire professional career with the Rays, appearing in 115 games in six seasons. He missed the entire 2015 and much of the 2016 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The righty returned to action this year, making 29 starts. He finished the season with a 3.66 ERA, 1.221 WHIP, 2.91 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and 2.4 wins above replacement. Cobb was the 11th-best free agent on the market according to MLB Trade Rumors.

Philadelphia also bolstered their young bullpen by signing the 31-year-old Hunter to a two-year, $12 million contract. In 2017 with the Rays, Hunter had the best ERA (2.67) and WHIP (0.972) of his career. In 58.2 innings, he struck out 64 batters and walked just 14. Hunter should be a setup man for Hector Neris in 2018.

Finally, the team rounded out Tuesday’s signings by boosting their bench, picking up the 11-year-veteran Smith on a one-year, seven million dollar contract. This will be Smith’s sixth team of his career. He played 111 games for the Orioles in 2017, starting 72 games in left field and 10 in right.

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In 373 plate appearances, Smith had a .258/.340/.433 line, hitting 13 home runs. He walked 36 times and struck out 76 times. He should serve as the team’s fourth outfielder.

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