Ryan Cook rejoins A’s after shoulder injury

Oakland has another option if closer Jim Johnson continues to struggle, activating Ryan Cook from the disabled list after the right-hander missed the first week of the season with a strained shoulder.

Cook has been one of the best setup men in the league since the A’s acquired him from the Diamondbacks in 2012, posting a 2.30 ERA and 147 strikeouts in 141 innings. He also has some closing experience and definitely has closer-caliber raw stuff.

For now he’ll slide back into a late-inning setup role in what has the potential to be one of the best, deepest bullpens in baseball if Johnson can get his act together.

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Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Twins have picked up free agent left-hander Martín Pérez on a one-year deal. Financial terms of the deal have yet to be announced, but it looks like a club option is included for the 2020 season. The Twins have not officially confirmed the signing.

Pérez, 27, missed 85 days of the Rangers’ 2018 campaign after undergoing elbow surgery on his non-throwing arm. He sustained the injury partway through the 2017 offseason; as the story goes, he was charged by a bull at his ranch in Venezuela and fell on his right arm as he was trying to get out of the animal’s path. (He later killed and ate said bull.) When he finally returned to the mound, he cobbled together a 2-7 record in 15 starts with a 6.22 ERA, 3.8 BB/9, 5.5 SO/9, and career-low -0.2 fWAR through 85 1/3 innings out of the rotation and bullpen.

As they approach the start of the 2019 season, the Twins will be looking for something a little more, well, bullish from Pérez. Prior to his injury, he turned in two solid seasons with the Rangers in 2016 and 2017, nearing the 200-inning threshold in both campaigns and providing a combined value of 4.2 fWAR at a time when Texas’ starters collectively ranked sixth-worst in the league.