Report: Rays to make qualifying offer to Cobb

The Tampa Bay Rays appear to be interested in trying to keep one of the offseason's top free-agent pitchers in their organization.

Tampa will make a qualifying offer to right-hander Alex Cobb, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports.

If Cobb were to accept the qualifying offer, which is reportedly set at $17.4 million this year, the Rays would keep the 30-year-old for at least one more season. If Cobb were to decline, the Rays would earn draft-pick compensation.

Cobb is one of the top starting pitchers available in a thin free-agent market that also includes Yu Darvish, Jake Arrieta, and Lance Lynn.

The six-year veteran was 12-10 with a 3.66 ERA last season after making only five starts in 2016 and missing all of 2015 because of Tommy John surgery.

Teams have until Monday to present their free agents with a qualifying offer, and players then have until Nov. 13 to accept or reject.