Rays' Alex Cobb: Solid in batting practice session

Cobb threw live batting practice Monday and was happy with the session, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports. "There weren't too many hitters, I had a lot of injured guys in my group who were kind of just tracking," Cobb said. "I had Brad Miller, who was swinging, and he swung often, thankfully [which allowed Cobb to see how a hitter reacted to his pitches]. But it was good."

Analysis:

The 29-year-old righty struggled in five starts at the big league level last season after missing the entirety of the 2015 season due to Tommy John surgery. Cobb was 1-2 with a mammoth 8.59 ERA and 1.77 WHIP over 22 innings at the tail end of the season, and enters spring training looking to solidify a spot in the Rays starting rotation. Considering his difficult stretch in 2016, Cobb is looking forward to getting a fresh start this spring and getting some live game action in. "You go from flat-ground work in mid-January, progress up to the bullpens, and live BP. The games. Just another step in that direction. I was happy to get that under my belt."