Giants GM Farhan Zaidi said Sunday that Cobb (hip) could be available "relatively soon into the year," Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
It's not exactly an explicit return timeline, but it's still a major improvement on the mid-summer return that was the previous expectation. Cobb underwent surgery on his left hip in late October, and his recovery has apparently gone better than anticipated. The 36-year-old has already resumed throwing off a mound and could soon be cleared to face live hitters.