MLB Player News

Cobb will throw a simulated game instead of making his scheduled start Tuesday against the Yankees after his wife had a baby Friday, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

The brief absence shouldn't have a significant impact on Cobb's preparation for the upcoming season. He should debut on time this year after missing the first two weeks of last season due to signing on March 20.

The Indians announced Saturday that McKenzie has been shut down from throwing due to an upper-back strain.

It's unclear how McKenzie suffered the injury, but he'll nonetheless step away from throwing at minor-league camp. The 21-year-old -- one of the Indians' top prospects -- should be considered out indefinitely until the organization is able to offer an official recovery timetable.

Bieber allowed one hit while striking out four over four scoreless innings against the Rockies on Saturday.

The right-hander has picked up where he left off last season, posting a 9:0 K:BB through nine Cactus League innings so far. Bieber turned in a 5.13 K/BB in 114.2 innings at the big-league level last season. Some out there are concerned that Bieber gets too much of the plate, but the talent is easy to see when he's on the mound and there will likely be no real workload restrictions in his sophomore campaign.

Cole will make his first start of the regular season March 29 versus the Rays, ESPN.com reports.

Cole will follow Opening Day starter Justin Verlander in the rotation, with the two hurlers again giving the Astros one of baseball's best pairs of staff headliners. The move to Houston helped Cole reach his full potential in 2018, as his 2.88 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 12.4 K/9 all represented the best or second-best marks of his career.

Heaney was pulled after recording just two outs Friday against the White Sox, but he said afterward that his elbow felt fine, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Manager Brad Ausmus decided not to let Heaney complete the inning, as he had grown concerned about the lefty's pitch count (25). Heaney said he was "never really quite comfortable" during the outing, but he threw an additional 20 pitches in the bullpen after leaving the game, and it sounds like he will continue on his normal pitching schedule moving forward. Heaney was pushed back earlier in the month due to left elbow inflammation.

Kikuchi will start the second game of the Mariners' season on March 21 against the Athletics in Japan, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Kikuchi lines up to pitch second in the team's rotation behind Marco Gonzales. It remains unclear if he'll remain in that spot in the order all season, as he may require extra days of rest as he transitions from a Japanese pitching schedule -- where starters pitch once a week -- to an American one, where starters generally throw every five days.

Gonzales will start the Mariners' first game of the season against the Athletics in Japan on March 20, Corey Brock of The Athletic reports.

Gonzales doesn't have the overpowering stuff of a prototypical ace, and he wouldn't be the Opening Day starter on most teams, but he's still a quality arm. His 4.00 ERA last season hid a strong 3.47 FIP, as he paired a respectable 21.1 percent strikeout rate with a 4.7 percent walk rate.

Suarez has been limited to just one Cactus League appearance this spring due to a sore shoulder, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Manager Brad Ausmus relayed that Suarez's lack of usage is no cause for concern, with the skipper relaying that the young lefty resumed throwing three days ago, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Even if the injury hadn't surfaced, the Angels may have looked to limit Suarez's spring workload anyway after his innings count jumped from 68.2 in 2017 to 117 in 2018. The 21-year-old is slated to open the season in the rotation at Triple-A Salt Lake.

Montas now sports a 1.00 ERA across nine spring innings over three spring appearances (two starts).

One of several candidates for the fifth and final rotation spot, Montas made yet another strong case for himself in his latest spring turn. The right-hander allowed just one earned run on five hits over four innings while striking out four Giants in a 5-1 win Thursday. Montas now has eight strikeouts and has garnered both a win and a save this spring. Given that he's out of minor-league options and performing admirably thus far, he appears to have a better-than-average chance of locking up the job if he can maintain the same caliber of performance during the rest of the exhibition slate.

Lynn allowed one hit and struck out four over four scoreless innings Friday against the Rockies.

This was Lynn's second start of the spring and a big departure from his first start last week when he allowed five runs in 2.2 innings. He's struck out nine batters over 6.2 innings and is ticketed for a spot in the team's rotation.