MLB Player News

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.

Ashby (shoulder) retired one of the six batters he faced and gave up four runs (three earned) on two hits and one walk Saturday in the Brewers' 11-3 loss to the Dodgers in Cactus League play.

Ashby is getting the chance to compete for a spot in the Brewers' Opening Day rotation after he missed the entire 2023 season while recovering from the left shoulder surgery he underwent last April. Though he was deployed in relief in his spring debut, Ashby still saw a healthy workload Saturday, as he tossed 24 pitches (12 strikes) while facing six hitters. Unsurprisingly, Ashby looked rusty while pitching in a competitive setting for the first time since October 2022, but the Brewers are hoping that he'll be able to iron out the kinks over his subsequent spring appearances. Ashby still has two minor-league options remaining, so the Brewers could send him to Triple-A Nashville to begin the 2024 campaign if they're not confident that he's ready to pitch effectively at the big-league level by late March.

Lodolo is throwing a bullpen session Sunday and will see a specialist Monday for testing on his left tibia, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

It's an interesting situation for Lodolo, who continues to throw off a mound despite ongoing discomfort around his left tibia, where a stress reaction caused him to miss much of last season. The 26-year-old's outlook for Opening Day should receive some clarity once the results of Monday's testing are announced.

Gray struck out five and walked two over three innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox, allowing one run on two hits.

That's now 10 strikeouts in five innings for Gray to begin the spring, and the right-hander fanned Trevor Story and Triston Casas twice each during Saturday's outing. His strikeout rate sagged to 20.5 percent last season, down from 23.7 percent in 2022, so Gray will need to get more swing-and-miss out of his arsenal if he's going to take another step forward in his development. The Nationals are counting on the 26-year-old to be one of the pillars of their rotation, but as yet he hasn't put it all together in the majors, with his career-best 3.91 ERA last year masking a 1.46 WHIP and 4.93 FIP.

Sanchez struck out one in a perfect inning of relief during Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets.

The one-time top prospect didn't face any of New York's top hitters during his stint, but he did strike out DJ Stewart to end the inning. The fact that he was even on a mound at all was a huge step for Sanchez, who has had his career derailed by injuries and hasn't pitched in the majors since 2020. Per Christina De Nicola of MLB.com, Sanchez topped out at 95.3 mph with his fastball -- a big step down from the 97.6 mph he averaged the last time he wore a Marlins uniform, but still impressive for early March given his long road back. The best-case scenario for the 25-year-old might be a low-leverage role in the Opening Day bullpen, but if Sanchez shows enough this spring, Miami might be willing to give him one more chance.

Waldrep walked two and struck out two without giving up a hit over two scoreless innings during Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays.

One of Atlanta's top pitching prospects had a good showing in his spring debut, entering the game in the fifth inning and promptly fanning Danny Jansen. Waldrep wound up tossing 19 of 34 pitches for strikes, and improving his control will be a point of emphasis for the 22-year-old right-hander this season after he posted a 41:16 K:BB in 29.1 innings across four levels last season in his pro debut. While he almost certainly won't break camp on the Opening Day roster, Waldrep appears poised to see action with Atlanta at some point this summer after being the 24th overall pick in the 2023 Draft.

Steele said his goal for 2024 is to make at least 30 starts and log 180 or more innings for the first time in his career, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Steele made exactly 30 starts in 2023 and tossed a career-high 173.1 innings. It was a decent jump from the 119 innings he recorded in 2022, but the southpaw didn't seem bothered by the larger workload, as he recorded a strong 3.06 ERA and 1.17 WHIP, which were both improvements from the previous season. Steele is likely in line to start on Opening Day for the Cubs, and if he can stay healthy this year, another big performance could be in store for the emerging ace.

Greene allowed two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out two over three innings in Saturday's spring start against the Rockies.

Greene walked two batters for a second straight Cactus League appearance and has allowed four free passes in 4.2 innings. Cincinnati manager David Bell made note of the control issues to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. "In spring training, he continues to work on things," Bell said. "Too many balls right now, he's walking a few. He's got to work towards cleaning that up." The manager added that Greene isn't missing by much and pitchers honing in during spring training is all part of the process.

Contreras allowed one hit and walked three while striking out one across scoreless 2.1 innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers.

Contreras managed to work his way out of trouble, but he walked a batter in all three innings he pitched. Per Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Contreras also averaged 94.3 mph on his fastball, down around two ticks from the top velocity he's shown in the majors. He's now walked four batters across 4.1 innings of work this spring, which won't help his chances of securing a rotation spot to begin the new campaign.

Groome was optioned to Triple-A El Paso by the Padres on Saturday.

Groome didn't make any Cactus League appearances for the Padres before being given the pink slip. The left-hander is coming off a dreadful 2023 season with El Paso, having posted an 8.55 ERA, 2.10 WHIP and 137:112 K:BB over 134.2 innings.