The Bravos de León of the Mexican League announced last week that they’ve signed veteran reliever Jay Jackson. The Bravos also announced a deal with righty Josimar Cousin, who spent some time on the White Sox’s 40-man roster last year. Francys Romero first reported the Cousin deal.
Jackson, a Nello Gamberdino client, has pitched in parts of six big league seasons. He reached the majors in each of the past four years, including a 20-game stint with the Twins last season. Jackson struggled to a 7.52 earned run average over 26 1/3 frames for Minnesota. He had a solid strikeout and walk profile (25.4% and 7.9%, respectively) but gave up seven home runs in his relatively small sample of work.
The 37-year-old righty is only a year removed from posting much better numbers with Toronto. Jackson provided the Jays 29 2/3 innings of 2.12 ERA ball in 2023. His velocity was down slightly last year. His four-seam fastball sat at 91.9 MPH; he’d averaged a bit above 93 MPH two seasons ago. If he recaptures his previous velocity and/or misses bats in Mexico, he could pitch his way back to affiliated ball on a midseason minor league deal.
Cousin, 27, is a Cuban-born hurler who hasn’t pitched in the majors. The White Sox selected his contract in 2023 but outrighted back off the 40-man roster last April. He combined for a 2.80 ERA in 35 1/3 innings between the top two minor league levels. Cousin qualified for minor league free agency at season’s end.
