ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - The Los Angeles Angels acquired veteran right-hander Alex Cobb from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for prospect Jahmai Jones.
The Angels also get cash in the trade announced Tuesday night.
The 33-year-old Cobb is expected to join the Angels’ rotation alongside Dylan Bundy, who had the best season of his career in 2020 after Los Angeles obtained him from rebuilding Baltimore.
Cobb went 2-5 with a 4.30 ERA in 10 starts last season for the Orioles. He is 55-57 with a 3.88 ERA during a decade in the majors with Tampa Bay and Baltimore.
Although he hasn’t regularly reached the heights of his best days with the Rays in recent years, Cobb is a groundball pitcher who could benefit from playing in pitcher-friendly Angel Stadium with the Halos’ excellent infield defense.
Cobb had Tommy John surgery in 2015 and missed most of the 2019 season with back problems.
Cobb is owed $15 million in the final season of a $57 million, four-year contract, of which $4.5 million is deferred and due as part of $20 million payable in a $2 million installment this Nov. 30 and $1.8 million each Nov. 30 from 2023-32.
He has a limited no-trade provision allowing him to block trades to 10 teams, but it wasn’t an impediment to joining Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon and the pitching-poor Angels.
The Angels have been in the chase for Cy Young Award-winning free agent Trevor Bauer, but they have built some depth in a rotation headlined by Bundy, Cobb, fellow newcomer José Quintana, Andrew Heaney and Griffin Canning. Los Angeles also has Shohei Ohtani, Jaime Barria and Patrick Sandoval as possible rotation members.
The 23-year-old Jones was once considered one of the Angels’ top prospects, and he made his major league debut late last season. He has played second base and center field - two positions where he had no real path to the majors with Los Angeles - and he struggled at the plate during his recent stops in the minors.
The trade is the third in 14 months between Baltimore and Los Angeles, with the Angels thrice getting proven major leaguers in exchange for prospects. The Orioles sent shortstop José Iglesias to the Halos last Dec. 2.
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