Rays' Alex Cobb (elbow) cleared for first rehab start

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Alex Cobb (elbow) will make his first minor league rehab start Wednesday with High-A Charlotte.

What It Means:

The Rays want to see four or five outings from Cobb before considering bringing him back to the majors. This will be his first live action since receiving Tommy John reconstructive surgery on his elbow almost a full 14 months ago.

Cobb last stepped on a major league mound in 2014, when he turned in an impressive 2.87 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 21.90 strikeout percentage across 166 1/3 innings for the Rays. He went 10-9 across 27 starts that season.