MLB Player News

Cobb (hip) could make his Cactus League debut as soon as Saturday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

After Cobb underwent left hip surgery in October, the initial expectation was that he probably wouldn't be ready to make his season debut until a little before the All-Star break. However, he's blown his projected recovery timeline out of the water thus far and now might rejoin the rotation sometime in April if all continues to go well. Whenever Cobb is cleared to debut, his return would be a big boost to a Giants rotation that has already lost Tristan Beck (arm) and could be without Keaton Winn (elbow). Cobb now shapes up as a nice value pick in fantasy leagues.

The Nationals optioned Parker to Triple-A Rochester on Monday.

Parker was one of seven players sent out of big-league camp Monday in the Nationals' latest round of roster cuts. The 24-year-old hurler is coming off a stellar 2023 campaign in which he struck out 132 batters over 113.2 innings with Double-A Harrisburg, but he struggled in his late-season promotion to Rochester, as he posted a 10.45 ERA and 2.18 WHIP over 10.1 innings. Parker will look to cut down on the control and command issues in his second go-around at Triple-A in 2024, and if he's able to find success, he could get a look with the Nationals at some point later in the season.

The Nationals optioned Herz to Triple-A Rochester on Monday.

Herz was one of seven players sent out of big-league camp in the Nationals' latest round of spring roster cuts. Acquired from the Cubs last July in the deal that sent Jeimer Candelario to Chicago, Herz settled at Double-A Harrisburg with his new organization and turned in a 2.55 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 53:20 K:BB in 35.1 innings. He'll get a new challenge at the Triple-A level to begin the 2024 campaign and could get a look with Washington at some point later in the season if he continues to excel with Rochester.

The Nationals optioned Henry to Triple-A Rochester on Monday.

Henry was added to the Nationals' 40-man roster this winter, but that move was made primarily to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft rather than being an acknowledgement that the 24-year-old right-hander is big-league ready. He looks like he'll at least get his first taste of the Triple-A level to begin the 2024 season, despite posting an ugly 10.31 ERA and 1.99 WHIP across 18.1 innings at Double-A Harrisburg in 2023. The Nationals are hopeful that he'll be able to resolve some of the command and control woes that plagued him at Double-A now that he's nearly 19 months removed from the thoracic outlet syndrome surgery he underwent in August 2022.

The Nationals optioned Adon to Triple-A Rochester on Monday.

Adon posted a 6.45 ERA and 1.63 WHIP over 12 appearances (10 starts) with the Nationals a season ago, but with the Washington rotation in a better spot from a health standpoint heading into spring training than it was late in the 2023 campaign, the right-hander won't earn a spot on the Opening Day squad. He's still likely to stay stretched out on the farm as a member of Rochester's rotation and will be available to make spot starts for the big club whenever injuries test the Nationals' rotation depth.

Atlanta optioned Smith-Shawver to Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday.

Smith-Shawver finished with an 8.22 ERA over three Grapefruit League starts but also boasted an 11:2 K:BB across 7.2 innings of work. The young right-hander was always pegged for Gwinnett's rotation to open the season but could wind up making a good number of starts with the big club in 2024.

Gray (hamstring) will throw a bullpen session Monday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Gray will throw from the bump for the first time since he suffered a mild right hamstring strain a week ago. While Gray still looks like a longshot to complete his ramp-up program ahead of Opening Day, the veteran hurler is making nice progress and shouldn't miss too much time if he continues trending in the right direction.

Pfaadt allowed four runs on four hits while striking out one over 2.2 innings in Sunday's start against the Dodgers.

Pfaadt was removed after he retired just two of the first six batters and then re-inserted to pitch the second and third innings. He set down the side in order after coming back into the game. Despite the results, Pfaadt told Steve Gilbert of MLB.com that the outing was the best he felt in three spring starts. He's slotted in as the Diamondbacks' No. 4 starter.

Lodolo (tibia) struck out one over two hitless and scoreless innings in Sunday's spring start against the Guardians.

Lodolo fired two perfect innings, and no ball made it out of the infield in his Cactus League debut. This was his first time pitching in 309 days since the left-hander suffered a stress fracture in his left tibia last year that limited him to seven starts. Lodolo told Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com that he felt good despite being anxious. The in-stadium scoreboard indicated his fastball topped out at 96 mph, up a few ticks from his average last season. Lodolo's slow progression through spring training will prevent him from being part of the first turn of the regular-season rotation, but he is expected to be ready soon after that.

The Brewers optioned Blalock to Double-A Biloxi on Sunday, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Blalock was added to the Brewers' 40-man roster this winter and is seen as one of the organization's top pitching prospects, but he's most likely a year or more away from making his MLB debut. The 22-year-old righty split time between the Single-A and High-A levels in the Red Sox and Brewers organizations in 2023, logging a collective 2.82 ERA and 75:20 K:BB in 67 innings over his 15 starts.