First pitch: 3 things I heard around MLB clubhouses last week

After taking in five MLB games over the past week in two different cities, here are some of the more interesting things I heard in the St. Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners, and Colorado Rockies clubhouses.

What a week it was in MLB, with plenty of news stories from coast to coast, including another animal control issues in Oakland and Marcell Ozuna continuing to struggle in Atlanta. My focus this week was on the West where Nolan Arenado returned to Denver with the rest of the St. Louis Cardinals to meet the Colorado Rockies, then  I jetted off to Seattle to see what is brewing (had to do a Starbucks pun there) in the Pacific Northwest with the Mariners.

MLB rumors: Robbie Ray working his way back to Seattle Mariners

Let’s start in Seattle where things are moving along for starting pitcher Robbie Ray, who landed on the 15-day injured list on April 1 with a Grade 1 flexor strain in his left forearm/elbow. The injury designation came after Ray struggled in his first start of the season, giving up five runs (three earned) on four hits and five walks in 3.1 innings against Cleveland.

Mariners skipper Scott Servais said that Ray has been “working his tail off” in an effort to get healthy and get back to the mound.

“Robbie looks good, feels good,” Servais said. “He will be reevaluated and check in on Monday. At that point, they will make a decision on when he can start his throwing program.

“He wants to get back as soon as he can. We need him back, but we need him back healthy.”

While a more firm timeline might be known after Monday’s check-in, Ray won’t be back with Seattle until at least early May.