DALLAS -- The Tigers¡¯ quest to restock their rotation following last year¡¯s ¡°pitching chaos¡± led president of baseball operations Scott Harris down a familiar path. On Tuesday night, Detroit finalized a one-year, $15 million deal with veteran right-hander Alex Cobb, who can earn additional $1 million bonuses for reaching 140 and 150 innings in 2025.

The 37-year-old Cobb will try to follow the bounce-back seasons the Tigers enjoyed from Jack Flaherty and Michael Lorenzen after signing similar deals the past couple of offseasons. Cobb is older than both and has more of an injury history, but he has also had recent success, including an All-Star selection with San Francisco in 2023 after Harris -- then the Giants¡¯ general manager -- signed him to a three-year deal in 2022.

¡°We're really excited to add him to our rotation,¡± Harris said. ¡°He does many things well. He's an excellent strike thrower. He induces soft contact. He has multiple secondary pitches that he can move around the zone to keep hitters off-balance. And he keeps the ball on the ground. So he can get outs in many different ways for us.¡±

Cobb returned from injuries, including left hip surgery and a broken fingernail on his pitching hand, to pitch in five games last season for the Guardians -- three in the regular season, two in the postseason -- after the Giants traded him at the July 30 Deadline. He faced the Tigers in Game 3 of the AL Division Series at Comerica Park, allowing two runs on three hits in three innings with a walk and two strikeouts in defeat, then faced the Yankees in Game 1 of the ALCS five days later before a lower back strain ended his season.

When Cobb is healthy and effective, he¡¯s a strong ground-ball pitcher with a near-equal mix of mid-90s sinkers and upper-80s splitters. He ranked in the 90th percentile or better among MLB pitchers in ground-ball rate from 2021-23, and he had what would¡¯ve been a career-best 61 percent ground-ball rate last season. Correspondingly, his 20.4 percent line-drive rate was his lowest since 2014.

¡°This guy¡¯s a really impressive competitor,¡± Harris said. ¡°He has gone through injuries throughout his career, but he fights through a ton of stuff. One of the things that impresses me about Alex is how he competes on the mound. He never gives into hitters. He always has a plan for them. He really has thrived, especially in recent years, because of his command. He really moves the ball around the zone. He keeps the ball out of the middle of the zone, and I think some of our young starters that have really good stuff can learn from the way he commands the baseball and keeps hitters off balance.¡±

Cobb¡¯s pitching will put to work a Tigers infield defense that posted a 73.1 percent ground-ball out rate, just above the MLB average of 73.0 percent according to Sports Info Solutions. Shortstop Trey Sweeney ranked in the 78th percentile among MLB players with 2 Outs Above Average despite being in the Majors for just under two months. Second baseman Colt Keith overcame a slow start defensively and finished at 0 Outs Above Average and plus-1 Fielding Run Value.

However, the Tigers¡¯ interest includes the potential for more strikeouts from Cobb with some adjustments to his game, including some work with his splitter. Though he has averaged 7.5 strikeouts per nine innings for his career, and 7.8 in his last full season in 2023, he averaged 9.5 in 2021 for the Angels and 9.1 in 2022 for the Giants.

¡°We think there¡¯s more in there,¡± Harris said. ¡°The first time I talked to Alex, I talked about how, ¡®We¡¯ve got some pitching development stuff for you. We think that there¡¯s another gear.¡¯ You guys will find out that he is very curious, he is very determined to get better and he¡¯s very open-minded about making adjustments. We saw that in San Francisco and we expect to see that here, so we¡¯re excited about him.¡±

Cobb joins AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, Reese Olson, Casey Mize, Kenta Maeda and a slew of young arms in a Tigers rotation picture that aims to provide stability and innings. While Detroit leveraged a mix of openers and bulk relievers behind Skubal and Keider Montero in a late-season run to the playoffs last year, such a mix isn¡¯t an option for a full season.

¡°I think we¡¯re probably set for now,¡± general manager Jeff Greenberg said. ¡°I think we were operating from a position of strength in our rotation given Tarik, Reese and now Alex, and we have seven or eight additional guys on our roster, some of whom obviously stepped up towards the end of last year, some of whom have a little more experience. I feel like we have quality, we have depth. Alex obviously raises our ceiling. He raises our floor as well.¡±