A. J. Cole

Andrew Jordan Cole (born January 5, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent.

[4] On December 23, 2011, Cole was traded with Derek Norris, Tommy Milone, and Brad Peacock to the Oakland Athletics for Gio González and Robert Gilliam.

The Athletics demoted him to the Burlington Bees of the Class A Midwest League, where he made 19 starts, pitching to a 2.07 ERA and recording 102 strikeouts compared to 19 walks in 95+2⁄3 innings.

[7] Cole pitched for the Potomac Nationals of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League, and was named to appear in the 2013 All-Star Futures Game.

[9] In 2014, Cole began the year with Harrisburg, and received a promotion to the Syracuse Chiefs of the Class AAA International League.

[13] The Nationals promoted Cole to the major leagues to make a start in place of Max Scherzer on April 28.;[14] while Cole had a miserable outing, giving up nine runs in only two innings, he would get a no-decision after the Nationals, who had lost six straight, would come back to win the game 13–12,[15] starting a span where they won 20 of 25 games and jumped from last to first in the NL East.

Working exclusively as a starter, he pitched to a 4.26 ERA (up by more than a full run from 2015) over 22 games, including two complete-game performances, before he was called up by the Nationals on August 18, 2016, to fill in as a reliever.

He notched his first career win on September 2, 2016, against the New York Mets, giving up just one earned run on three hits and two walks over six innings on the road.

[23] On September 26, Cole was ejected for the first time in his Major League career after throwing a pitch behind Jung-ho Kang.

[40] On September 30, Cole came into a game in long relief against the Pittsburgh Pirates and pitched 32⁄3 no-hit innings, although the Nationals eventually lost despite his efforts.

Following an abbreviated – but much more effective – second start on April 11 in which he gave up two runs in 51⁄3 innings against the Braves,[45] he was reassigned to the bullpen to make room in the rotation for veteran Jeremy Hellickson.

On January 4, 2019, AJ Cole was designated for assignment by the Yankees to make room for newly signed Troy Tulowitzki.

On December 2, 2019, Cole signed with the Toronto Blue Jays on a minor-league deal with an invitation to spring training.

With the 2020 Toronto Blue Jays, Cole appeared in 24 games, compiling a 3–0 record with 3.09 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 23.1 innings pitched.

Cole pitching for the Hagerstown Suns in 2011
Cole with the Nationals in 2016