Suddenly the San Francisco Giants rotation, while still highly unproven, has significantly fewer question marks. For a while it looked like Alex Cobb would be gone for a few months, while promising youngsters Keaton Winn and Tristan Beck would be sidelined through Opening Day.
That remains true for Beck, but against all odds, Cobb pitched in a Minor League game on Saturday, and now looks slated for an early-to-mid April return. And the Blake Snell rumor mill is getting very hot again. And now Winn is providing optimism.
The powerful righty starter, penciled into the rotation seemingly from the moment Bob Melvin took over as manager, was dealt an injury setback at the very start of camp.