MLB Player News

Cobb (hip) will throw a live batting practice session Monday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Cobb continues to make good progress from last October's left hip surgery and is now expected back much sooner than initially anticipated. The Giants have not yet offered a clear timeline for Cobb's season debut, but president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi did say last weekend that the righty could be back "relatively soon into the year."

Walker (knee) will see his first Grapefruit League action of the spring Saturday, Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Walker was away from the Phillies early on in camp for personal reasons and has dealt with a sore right knee over the past week. However, he got through his last bullpen session with no problems and has been cleared for his first spring start. He should still have enough time to ramp up prior to Opening Day.

Schmidt is throwing a new split-finger changeup this spring, Max Goodman of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

Schmidt threw a changeup on only 1.5 percent of his pitches last season, and when he did go to the offering, batters knocked it around to the tune of a .429 batting average. The right-hander has since worked on changing his grip on the pitch, modeling the adjustment on Blue Jays hurler Kevin Gausman. Of course, the Yankees would be ecstatic if Schmidt's results are anything close to Gausman's, but even if the new offering brings less dramatic improvement it could help the younger hurler bring stability to the back of the team's rotation. Schmidt posted a mediocre 4.64 ERA and 1.35 WHIP along with a 149:46 K:BB last season, but he gave an injury-riddled staff 159 innings, and manager Aaron Boone said in late February that he is guaranteed a spot in New York's Opening Day rotation.

Keller (shoulder) signed a minor-league contract with the White Sox on Friday that includes an invitation to spring training.

Keller's 2023 season ended in September when the Royals put him on the injured list due to thoracic outlet syndrome. It's uncertain what his current health situation is, but the White Sox clearly felt comfortable enough with it to give the righty a low-risk, non-roster invite. Keller has been an effective innings-eater in the past and is still just 28, but he holds a 5.14 ERA since the start of the 2021 campaign. The White Sox will likely send him to the minors initially if he performs well enough, but given their dearth of rotation options, he could well end up spending time in the big-league rotation in 2024.

The Rockies optioned Davis to Triple-A Albuquerque on Friday, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

Davis was competing for a spot at the back end of Colorado's Opening Day rotation but allowed three earned runs on 10 hits and three walks over six innings during spring training, striking out five. The 26-year-old struggled to an 8.70 ERA over 30 frames in his first taste of the majors last season but is a decent bet to receive another look with the Rockies at some point in 2024.

Hodge was optioned to Double-A Tennessee by the Cubs on Friday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Hodge put up an uninspiring posting a 5.13 ERA and 1.41 WHIP across 80.2 frames with Tennessee last season, although he did fan 103 batters. He pitched as both a starter and reliever last season and it's not clear what role the Cubs have planned for him this season.

Arias was optioned to Double-A Tennessee by the Cubs on Friday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Arias netted a 40-man roster spot this offseason but didn't have a real chance of breaking camp with the big club. The 22-year-old has yet to advance past A-ball but should open 2024 in Tennessee's rotation.

Brown was optioned to Triple-A Iowa by the Cubs on Friday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Brown could wind up spending time in the Cubs' rotation in 2024, but for now he'll gain some more experience at Iowa. The 24-year-old right-hander spent the bulk of 2023 at Iowa, collecting a 5.33 ERA and 100:51 K:BB over 72.2 innings.

The White Sox optioned Cousin to Double-A Birmingham on Friday.

The 25-year-old was added to Chicago's 40-man roster in December, but he was never a likely bet to begin the season in the majors given that he has just two appearances above the High-A level. Cousin should spend most of 2024 in Birmingham's rotation.

Woo fired 2.2 scoreless innings during which he allowed a walk and recorded three strikeouts in Thursday's Cactus League victory over the Angels.

Woo had been roughed up for four earned runs on six hits over 1.2 innings by the Rockies in his Cactus League debut last Friday. Steve Stockmar of MLB.com reports the right-hander needed just nine pitches to get through the first inning and threw 22 of his 38 pitches for strikes. While the Angels lineup was missing several key regulars, including Mike Trout, both Woo and manager Scott Servais came away pleased with the progress he displayed during his start. "He came out with a plan today and executed," Servais said. "He wanted to get both of his fastballs going and he did just that. He threw the ball really well. Great to see, super aggressive, had tons of strikes, and had really good stuff on top of it."