Five thoughts on fallout from Orioles' agreement with free-agent pitcher Alex Cobb

Tampa Bay Rays' Alex Cobb delivers a pitch against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017, in Boston. (Steven Senne / AP)Alex Cobb's four-year agreement with the Orioles, pending a medical review, casts the team's 2018 season in a new light.

It took until the last week of spring training to bring in what was seen as the missing piece — a top starting pitcher — but now that they have, the Orioles have a team primed to at least compete in a tough American League, if not contend.

But Cobb doesn't enter the equation in a vacuum. His acquisition will have far-reaching ripples around the Orioles roster — some serious, some minor — and reinforces whatever…