Blue Jays: A look at 8 non-tendered free agent pitchers

Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Ryan Cook (28)
2015:  8.2 IP  |  18.69 ERA

Don’t gasp too loudly at Cook’s 2015 numbers, as they’re a microscopic sample and don’t represent the earlier years of his young career. In fact, he was a fairly serviceable relief arm for the Oakland Athletics for three years, posting back-to-back 1.5 WAR’s in 2012 and 2013.

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Even including the ugly blast of 2015 numbers, Cook’s career ERA over 207.0 Major League innings sits at 3.43 with an impressive 9.1 K/9. After being dealt to the Boston Red Sox mid-season last year, he was briefly claimed by the Chicago Cubs one month ago before being non-tendered.

Cook offers the traditional arsenal of a fastball, slider and changeup with a maximum velocity that sits around 95 MPH. While he’s experienced some inconsistent levels of success year-to-year with the heater, his slider has been consistently strong with approximately 25% usage.

Perhaps his struggles between the AAA and MLB levels in 2015 are indicative of something larger for Cook (not sure about that), but he represents the type of arm that could provide sneaky value without blowing the bank. He’s unproven in a back-end role, but that’s not the only hole that needs to be filled. An arm like Cook would fill the Liam Hendriks or LaTroy Hawkins spot nicely.

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