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By Jackson Roberts
Contributing Sports Writer
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The Toronto Blue Jays are gearing up to try for a repeat pennant in the American League, so every roster move matters. Unfortunately for one pitching prospect, that meant there was no longer a spot in the organization.
Right-hander Connor Cooke was arguably the Blue Jays' top relief-only pitching prospect entering the 2024 season, which was reflected by his No. 20 ranking in that year's MLB Pipeline organizational rankings. Just two years later, he and the Blue Jays parted ways.
According to the official transactions log, Toronto released Cooke on Wednesday, just one day before the Blue Jays opened their season at the major league level and two days before the Triple-A season kicks off for the Buffalo Bisons.
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Cooke made 33 appearances for Buffalo in 2024, and he struggled to the tune of a 4.55 ERA before undergoing Tommy John surgery, which cost him all of last year. Now 26 years old, he's less of a prospect and more of an interesting arm if he can get things back on track.
In 2023, however, Cooke struck out an impressive 80 batters in 44 1/3 innings across three levels of the minors. Granted, he still had some control issues that year, but a strikeout pace like that is plenty to get a pitcher on the major league club's radar.
It wouldn't be surprising to see another team take a shot on Cooke at some point, but he'd have to prove he was fully recovered from the surgery. The former 10th-round pick is a superb athlete, pumping 98 mph fastballs and reportedly dunking a basketball at 6-foot-1.
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