Cobb inks $57 million deal with Orioles

Alex Cobb’s comfort and familiarity with the AL East was the deciding factor in his decision to sign with the Baltimore Orioles.

“They used the AL East and the success I’ve had in it to their advantage,” the 30-year-old right-hander said Wednesday after finalizing a $57 million, four-year contract. “They kept challenging me with it and I love the challenge of pitching in this division and they know that over the times we talked. They did a really good job of making me feel like this is where I need to be.”

Cobb gets $14 million in each of the first three seasons and $15 million in 2021, and he would earn a $500,000 bonus in each year he pitches 180 innings. Baltimore will defer $6.5 million from this year’s salary and $4.5 million in each of the next three seasons.

He had spent his entire six-season big league career with Tampa Bay and was the last big-name starting pitcher available in a slow-moving free agent market. He joined Andrew Cashner and Chris Tillman, who were signed last month, in a revamped rotation that includes holdovers Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman.

Cobb was 12-10 with a 3.66 ERA in 29 starts last season. He pitched 179 1⁄3 innings in his first full year back after missing nearly two seasons because of Tommy John surgery.

Cobb is 48-35 with a 3.50 in six bigleague seasons. Baltimore will lose its third-highest draft pick, currently No. 51, and the Rays get an extra selection after the first round as compensation.

Hall won’t use Tribe logo: The Baseball Hall of Fame says it no longer will use the Cleveland Indians’ Chief Wahoo logo for plaques of new members.

In a statement, the Hall said that it “concurs with the commissioner’s sentiment and acknowledges the shifting societal view of Native American logos in baseball.”

Former Cleveland slugger Jim Thome was elected in January and said he wanted a block C logo on his plaque when it is unveiled in July. Thome said it was “the right thing to do.”

Major League Baseball announced earlier this year the Chief Wahoo logo won’t appear on Cleveland uniforms starting in the 2019 season.

Anderson returns to A’s: Left-hander Brett Anderson is back pitching with the club for which he broke into the big leagues, reaching an agreement on a minor-league contract with the Oakland Athletics.

The 30-year-old spent the 2009-’13 seasons with the A’s before being traded to the Rockies in December 2013. In nine years, he is 42-47 with a 4.04 ERA. He pitched for the Cubs and Toronto last year.