Rays' Cobb: 'We know we're going to contend' in AL East

The Tampa Bay Rays may have appeared to sell the farm this offseason, but Alex Cobb isn't buying it.  

While the right-hander's prediction for 2015 isn't quite as brash as that of Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo, the Rays' ace doesn't believe it's a stretch to say his team will be atop the American League East at the end of the season. 

"We'll talk back and forth about how everybody's saying we're selling everyone off and we're headed back to last place," Cobb told Bill Chastain of MLB.com. "We think the complete opposite. We think the team has gotten better, and we know we're going to contend in this division."

The Rays finished last season 77-85 – their lowest win total since 2007 – and traded away Ben Zobrist, Yunel Escobar, Wil Myers, Matt Joyce, Jeremy Hellickson, Joel Peralta, Cesar Ramos and Sean Rodriguez this offseason in an attempt to get younger and cut payroll. 

Their projected rotation boasts an average age of 25 – Cobb's the elder statesman at 27 – while deploying a trio of position players in Kevin Kiermaier, Steven Souza and Nick Franklin, who are 24, 25 and 23 respectively. 

Cobb believes the additions of Asdrubal Cabrera, Rene Rivera and John Jaso help compliment returnees Evan Longoria, Desmond Jennings and others who are poised for a bounce back season. 

"We know we had a down year last year, but we feel like we have a better team than last year," said Cobb. "We expect the core guys to produce more than they did last year. And you accompany that with some great acquisitions that we've had, and we're going to be a very successful team this year."