MLB Player News

Cobb (hip) said Wednesday that he hopes to be cleared to throw off a mound soon, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Coming back from October left hip surgery, Cobb began throwing on flat ground a few weeks ago and is eager to take the next step. The goal is to progress to facing hitters before the end of spring training with an eye toward rejoining the Giants' rotation before the All-Star break, although any timetable at this juncture is tentative.

Jefferies (elbow) will not have any restrictions at the beginning of spring training, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Jefferies has been sidelined for the past year and a half while rehabbing from his second Tommy John surgery, but he's fully recovered now and will throw a bullpen session Wednesday. The right-hander inked a minor-league contract with the Giants in December and seems likely to open the 2024 campaign in Triple-A Sacramento's rotation.

Fleming signed a one-year, split contract with the Pirates on Wednesday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

The 27-year-old will earn $850,000 if he's in the majors. Murray writes that the Pirates plan to use Fleming as a long reliever who could occasionally make a spot start. The left-hander holds a career 4.88 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 144:69 K:BB across 223.1 major-league innings covering parts of four seasons.

Patino isn't yet at Padres camp due to an issue with his visa, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Patino rejoined the Padres off waivers in December after spending the past three campaigns in the American League. It's not clear what his role with San Diego will be this season, though his experience as both a starter and middle reliever could be useful for what currently projects to be a thin rotation. The visa issue isn't likely to impact Patino's readiness for the start of the regular season.

Peralta is not currently in Padres camp due to an issue with his visa, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Peralta signed a four-year deal with San Diego on Jan. 31, and he's expected to be a key high-leverage reliever for the club this season. Though the native of the Dominican Republic hasn't yet been able to join his teammates in camp, the issue isn't likely to impact his readiness for the start of the regular season.

Casali signed a minor-league deal with the Marlins on Tuesday, which includes an invitation to spring training, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Casali was the backup catcher in Cincinnati for portions of 2023, though he earned only 96 plate appearances and posted a very poor .490 OPS. On the other hand, he lands in a good spot from an opportunity perspective, as Miami has only Nick Fortes and Christian Bethancourt as options behind the dish.

Machado (elbow) is swinging with 100 percent effort and playing catch to start spring training, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Machado is recovering from surgery to repair an extensor tendon injury in his elbow, leaving his status for Opening Day in question. For now, the news is positive, with general manager A.J. Preller saying that Machado has hit all expected benchmarks at this point, while also stating that he is "tracking toward" playing in the Padres' series against the Dodgers in Korea to kick off the regular season. Despite the positivity, there's still nothing definitive about Machado's status, as he is limited in the volume of his work and will be eased back into game action.

Chirinos signed a minor-league contract with the Marlins on Tuesday, which includes an invitation to spring training, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Chirinos was effective across 25 starts combined between the 2018 and 2019 seasons with the Rays, but a combination of struggles on the field and a serious elbow injury have derailed his opportunity in the majors since then. The Marlins have a deep rotation so Chirinos isn't likely to find immediate opportunity, though he could be a leading candidate for spot starts when injuries occur if he can stick in the organization.

Muzziotti cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday.

Muzziotti passed through waivers unclaimed after being designated for assignment by Philadelphia last week, so he'll remain in the organization. The 25-year-old received his first taste of the big leagues last season and went 1-for-7 in nine games, though he spent most of the campaign at Lehigh Valley, where he had a .762 OPS in 524 plate appearances.

Bellati cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday.

The right-hander was designated for assignment by Philadelphia last week but will remain in the organization after he passed through waivers unclaimed. Bellati will still join the Phillies for big-league camp after he posted a 5.11 ERA over 24.2 innings last year.