Cole (rib) was cleared to throw his first live batting practice session of the spring Friday, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

EDGE Analysis

There has been no word yet on how the session went, but no news is usually good news. Cole was slated for a couple simulated innings, each consisting of 15 pitches or so. This injury does not seem to be anything that would jeopardize Cole's status for Opening Day, but we will continue to monitor him until he's pitching in spring games.