Oakland As sign Australian two-way prospect Bjay Cooke to minor-league deal

The A’s have plenty of history with Australian-born players. Liam Hendriks, Grant Balfour, Travis Blackley, Rich Thompson and Luke Hughes all donned the green and gold in the last decade. But all four of those players began their professional careers in other organizations. For the first time, the A’s have signed an amateur free agent from the Land Down Under, and he’s an intriguing player for reasons well beyond his birthplace.

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Bailey-Jay Cooke, who goes by Bjay, will enter professional baseball as a two-way player. The 19-year-old infielder/pitcher signed a minor-league deal with the A’s on Monday. The A’s hope to have his visa set for him to enter the U.S. in time to participate in fall instructional league, where he will be developed — at least initially — both as a pitcher and a position player, according to A’s farm director Ed Sprague.

Cooke was signed by A’s international scout Dan Betreen, who is based out of Melbourne, Australia. Betreen has been following Cooke’s progress since he made Australia’s 15U team four years ago. Cooke had initially committed to play for Weatherford Junior College in Texas, but began to consider the possibility of turning pro over the past year. A native of Perth, Cooke was restricted from traveling outside of Western Australia for much of the pandemic, but when those restrictions were lifted, Betreen was able to get a few more looks at him before the A’s were able to sign him. Betreen is excited about the possibilities for the athletic, 6-foot-2, 195-pound right-hander.

“We’re very excited to have a great two-way athlete and even better person who is really independent and a driven young man who really wants to make an impact for Australian baseball and even the Oakland A’s,” Betreen said over the phone on Tuesday.

Old timers day @PerthHeat 🔥👊🏽@andrewriddell26 @Bennymoore84 @WCoyoteBaseball pic.twitter.com/VJsuYerhpz

— Bjay Cooke (@bjay_cooke) January 31, 2022

Betreen says being able to remain a two-way player was important to Cooke.

“He’s shown easy low 90s and touched 93/94 a few times, and being a two-way player that’s without really concentrating on the pitching,” Betreen said. “He’s got some plus bat speed. He rotates really fast on the blast data. He’s got long limbs. He’s got a real good feel for the strike zone and really good swing decisions. And he’s barely played too, which is really cool.”

Couple of AB’s in Perth Heat spring training game. 1-0 slider- right field ally pic.twitter.com/mKvm9oBCTI

— Bjay Cooke (@bjay_cooke) October 1, 2021

Cooke made the U23 Australian team for the upcoming baseball World Cup. Betreen says Cooke is a trailblazer for other Australian amateur players who are hoping to make the jump to professional baseball in the United States.

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“I think he’s gonna open the eyes of a lot more Australian kids and hopefully open the eyes of more organizations out here for sure,” he said.

(Photo of Bjay Cooke (left) and Dan Betreen (right) / Courtesy of the Oakland A’s)

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