MLB Player News

Hancock, who fired two perfect innings with three strikeouts against the Athletics in his Cactus League debut Saturday, has impressed manager Scott Servais with his aggressiveness thus far this spring, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports. "I love that's where he's at right now," Servais said.

Hancock still faces an uphill battle to snag an Opening Day spot if the Mariners' projected rotation makes it out of spring training unscathed, but he's been giving Servais something to think about since arriving in camp. The talented but oft-injured right-hander told the Seattle skipper in an earlier conversation he wanted to break camp with the big-league club, and he took the first official step toward forcing the issue Saturday with his dominant performance, which featured an improved fastball that sat between 94 and 96 mph, a changeup that got up to 90 mph and a cutter-slider hybrid that he's been working on. "I put a lot of work in this offseason trying to get back on track, get the velo back up," Hancock said. "And then ... when I get my work, I'm done. I don't want to overwork. I want to make sure that when I go into a start, I'm as fresh as possible."

Stripling (finger) didn't factor into the decision in a Cactus League win over the Rangers on Sunday, allowing an unearned run on two hits and recording a strikeout over three innings.

Stripling came on in the fourth inning in relief of starter JP Sears, who pitched a dominant first three frames that included seven strikeouts. Stripling didn't come close to matching his southpaw rotation mate in that regard, but he equaled Sears' workload and escaped without an earned run on his line. The veteran right-hander was originally slated to work up to 45 pitches, but Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports that manager Mark Kotsay relayed Stripling needed to put in another inning's worth of work in the bullpen to reach that count because he'd been so efficient on the mound.

Darvish tossed 3.1 innings against Seattle in a Cactus League game Sunday, allowing two runs on four hits and no walks while striking out six batters.

Darvish served up a two-run homer to Cade Marlowe in the second inning, but he was otherwise pretty sharp, throwing 30 of 46 pitches for strikes and punching out six batters. All three of the hits he surrendered aside from the long ball were singles, one of which was a pop-up that was lost in the sun and another that didn't leave the infield. Darvish has fanned nine hitters without issuing a walk over 5.1 frames this spring, and he looks to be on track to face the Dodgers in one of two contests in South Korea that will open the MLB regular season March 20-21.

Frasso (shoulder) was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday.

Frasso is still recovering from procedures on his shoulder and hip, and he's not expected to be ready to pitch until late in the season. Once healthy, he'll likely return to the mound with Oklahoma City, where he produced a 3.26 ERA and 1.36 WHIP with 13 strikeouts over 19.1 innings in four starts last season.

Knack was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday.

Knack made two appearances, including one start, this spring, allowing two earned runs on one hit and a walk while striking out seven batters over four innings. The right-hander produced a 2.93 ERA with 38 strikeouts over 43 frames in 10 starts with Oklahoma City last year, and if he repeats that production, he'll likely earn a shot in the majors sooner rather than later.

Bido was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas on Sunday.

Bido has appeared in three games with the A's this spring, allowing three earned runs on two hits and two walks while striking out three batters over three innings. The right-hander signed with Oakland in November after spending the 2023 campaign with the Pirates, posting a 5.86 ERA over 50.2 frames. He'll now look to carve out a role with the Athletics somewhere down the road.

Sanchez is introducing a cutter to his repertoire this spring, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Sanchez debuted back in 2021 but got his first extended run in the rotation in 2023, finishing with a 3.44 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 18 starts and one relief appearance. Backing up those marks was a strong set of peripherals, as his strikeout rate (24.2 percent), walk rate (4.0 percent) and groundball rate (57.0 percent) all beat league average by a wide margin in the latter two cases. He lines up as the Phillies' fifth starter (barring a potential late free-agent addition) and will look to maintain or improve on those numbers of a full-season workload. Given that he threw only three pitches (sinker, changeup and slider) last season, the addition of a fourth weapon could help him do just that, particularly as it could make the Phillies more comfortable asking him to go deeper into games.

Gibson allowed three runs on three hits and struck out two over two innings in his first Grapefruit League appearance of the season.

Gibson was tagged for two home runs in his first spring start. The veteran starter had a 4.73 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 157:55 K:BB over 192 innings for the Orioles last season before signing a one-year deal with the Cardinals in November. Gibson can still eat innings to an extent, but the results are likely to be mediocre -- his ERA has been over 4.50 in four of the last five seasons.

Rom allowed a walk and struck out one over two scoreless and hitless innings in his first Grapefruit League appearance.

Rom was projected to pitch Sunday versus the Marlins, but that game was rained out. The 24-year-old lefty has long odds to make the Cardinals' rotation, even if the team begins the year with six starters. Rom should be expected to open the year at Triple-A Memphis, and he'll likely stay stretched out should the Cardinals need reinforcements in the summer.

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.