MLB Player News

Cobb (elbow) will throw his first live bullpen session on Saturday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Cobb has been recovering from Tommy John surgery last May, and has progressed far enough to have a live bullpen session. The starter is expected to throw three or four bullpen sessions on a five-day rotation, then will get some rehab starts in the minors. The right-hander is 21-12 over his two full seasons in 2013-2014 with the Rays over 49 starts, with a career 3.21 ERA and 1.19 WHIP.

Smyly notched a career-high 12 strikeouts but was still saddled with a no-decision Wednesday versus the Mariners. He gave up four hits and a two-run homer to Nelson Cruz over 6.2 innings.

The southpaw was brilliant save for one pitch, throwing 67 of 101 pitches for strikes and inducing a whopping 19 swings-and-misses. Considering he'd been blasted for 19 hits and 12 earned runs over his previous two starts, Wednesday's outing was a sight for sore eyes for both the Rays and Smyly's fantasy owners. His whiff total was not only a career high, but also represented his third start this season with double-digit strikeouts. He'll try to stay on the right track next Monday versus Josh Tomlin and the Indians.

Snell, who'll start Thursday afternoon against the Mariners, has a chance to stick in the rotation for the rest of the season, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The 23-year-old, called up on June 12 to take Matt Andriese's spot in the rotation, has a definitive chance to carve out a role for the rest of the season with some strong performances. Snell was impressive in his major league debut April 23 against the Yankees, but was sent back down to Triple-A Durham following that outing. He's used the time since then to refine the mental aspects of his game, and believes the experience will serve him well in his second big-league go-round. "You just need to focus on this is where you're at, this is where you have to focus on being the best you can be," Snell said. "I gained more confidence, more trust in myself and I really believe a lot more in myself."

Walker's foot injury stems from him having extremely flat feet, which puts pressure on his tibia, but the Mariners are confident orthotics inserts in his shoes will solve the problem, the Seattle Times reports.

Walker aggravated the injury in his last start when he charged off the mound to field a bunt. He then couldn't use his leg to push off during his windup. The Mariners hope the shoe insert will arrive in time for his Sunday start. If not, Walker will pitch with his foot taped and hope he doesn't aggravate it again.

Sale (11-2) tossed seven solid frames Wednesday in a win against the Tigers, allowing three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out seven.

He had a tough second inning in which he gave up all three runs, but otherwise largely kept his nose clean and got just enough help from his offense. Sale hit a bit of a rough patch over his prior four outings, giving up 17 runs in 22.2 innings, but there was no reason to expect those struggles would last for one of baseball's very best pitchers. His strikeout rate may be down this year, but the ratios are as excellent as ever.

Gausman (0-4) lost again Wednesday, giving up six runs on seven hits and two walks in only three innings against the Red Sox.

After showing promise over his first four starts of the year, Gausman's returned to being his typical infuriatingly inefficient self, mixing solid outings with duds. The K:BB remains strong at 57:17, so don't be too quick to cut bait on him.

Kluber (6-7) was tagged for eight runs on nine hits over five innings Wednesday in a loss against the Royals. He struck out seven and walked just one.

That K:BB offers some bright side, but Kluber continues to be less than the sum of his peripherals. The 30-year-old is a long way from his Cy Young form of two years ago, as his once-spectacular strikeout rate's fallen in consecutive seasons while he's struggled to strand baserunners. The bright side is that some strand-rate correction should bring his ERA down into acceptable territory, but it's clear that despite his still-strong whiff rate and flashes of brilliance, Kluber can't be considered an upper-crust fantasy starter right now.

Kopech (hand) will start for Short Season Lowell on Friday, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports. The 20-year-old is coming back from a fractured hand he sustained while fighting with a teammate in spring training.

Kopech's hand injury came on the heels of a 50-game suspension at the end of last season for testing positive for a banned substance, so he's missed nearly a year of development time because of his off-the-field behavior. Through it all, the organization has supported the right-hander, who is saying all the right things about being more mature and expressing gratitude to the Red Sox for sticking by him. The Texas native, who possesses a mid-90s fastball, a swing-and-miss slider, and an improving changeup, shouldn't stay too long in Lowell.

Rodriguez threw a bullpen session in which he and pitching coach Carl Willis discussed the pitcher's focus on every pitch, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal reports. "If he focuses on repeating his delivery, he's going to have better command and he's going to throw the baseball where he wants to and he should be more efficient," Willis said.

Rodriguez's lack of focus has undermined the tempo of his delivery, leading to inconsistent command and missed location. In the past two starts, Rodriguez has walked seven and permitted five homers in 10.1 innings. He heads into a start Thursday with a 6.06 ERA.

Hill (groin) is still at least a week away from throwing off a mound, the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser reports.

He was shut down last weekend in an attempt to give him some time to get right before ramping up baseball activities. This situation seems fairly fluid, but it's worth noting that the A's will do everything in their power to get Hill healthy before returning him to the rotation, as they need to showcase him and convince potential buyers that they are not trading for damaged goods at the deadline. Considering he won't be throwing off a mound for at least a week, it's safe to say Hill won't return until at least early July.