SF Giants get positive news on right-handed starter as opening series looms

SAN FRANCISCO – Alex Cobb should be available to pitch this weekend but manager Gabe Kapler stopped short of saying the right-hander will start Saturday in the second game of the Giants’ season-opening series with the New York Yankees.

Kapler said Cobb (bruised left knee) felt good after he threw 52 pitches over four innings Monday in a minor league backfield game in Arizona, and will join the Giants when they begin a three-game series against at Yankee Stadium on Thursday.

The Giants, though, have yet to announce their rotation plans, beyond Logan Webb’s start on Opening Day. Cobb was originally slated to start Saturday in the second game of the series.

“I think his first start could be a couple of different days, but I feel good about it at this point,” Kapler said Monday of Cobb. “I feel confident that he’s going to be ready for the start of the season.”

Kapler said Sunday the Giants had a good idea of how the rotation will shake out. Alex Wood threw 10 strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings on Sunday against the A’s and could figure into the mix. Righties Anthony DeSclafini and Ross Stripling are other possibilities against a largely left-handed hitting Yankees lineup.

Cobb is in the second year of a two-year, $20 million contract he signed with the Giants in Nov. 2021. Last season, he went 7-8 with a 3.73 ERA over 149 innings.

CATCHING DUTIES: The Giants haven’t formally announced their season-opening roster but catcher Austin Wynns packed his belongings and left the team’s clubhouse Monday. The three catchers the Giants will carry into the regular season are Joey Bart, Blake Sabol and Roberto Pérez.