Wondering what a depth, 5th/6th starter type costs in this market? I was curious, so to that end, I was glad to get a data point.
The Tigers have signed non-tendered former Astros starter Mike Fiers to a one-year, $6 million deal (MLive). As a rebuilding club, Fiers is a perfect signing for the Tigers, who could hope he looks good and strong in the first half, and flip him to a pitching-needy team at the deadline.
I dabbled in Fiers as a depth option for the Cubs when it looked like he was going to be non-tendered by the Astros, but having signed Tyler Chatwood yesterday, you’d now like to see the Cubs adding a lower-risk option for the rotation. And I really dig the Chatwood signing, don’t get me wrong. But a back end of Chatwood and Fiers would rightly make you very nervous, whereas a back end of, say, Chatwood and Alex Cobb sounds pretty darn good.
Nevertheless, it’s still somewhat comforting to see that a decent 5th/6th depth starter can be had for one year and a relatively minimal investment. Regardless of what happens with Cobb, it remains the case that the Cubs could look to add additional depth (be through free agency or some other avenue).
Of course, all of this underscores just how impactful a Shohei Ohtani signing could be for the Cubs (how about a six-man rotation of Quintana-Hendricks-Lester-Ohtani-Cobb-Chatwood? YES PLEASE), so we keep waiting on that front …