Marlins' Cook partnering with local relief fund

MIAMI -- Marlins reliever Ryan Cook and his wife, Lindsay, are throwing their support into helping families in need in South Florida. Together, they’ve allocated funds towards the Ronald McDonald House in Miami.

The Cook’s initiative is in partnership with the Miami Marlins Foundation's Home Plate Meals Relief Fund.

“This hits close to home,” Cook said. “My wife, Lindsay, is a pediatric oncology nurse at Stanford. We thought that it would be a good opportunity to help as much as we possibly could at this moment.”

After MLB cancelled Spring Training in mid-March and delayed the start of the season due to the coronavirus pandemic, Cook returned to his home in Arizona.

In recent weeks, the Cooks decided to pitch in their support after seeing the charitable efforts being made by the Marlins.

“At that moment, [Lindsay] really saw the need, and we were like, ‘What better way to help?'" Cook said. “There’s a lot of people out there in need more than we are, so we decided to go for it.”

The couple posted about their involvement on Cook's Twitter, @ryancook_48. Their efforts are providing meals for patients and families at the Ronald McDonald House in South Florida. Meals have already been distributed in April, and they will continue every Thursday for the month of May.

In a video the Cooks posted on Twitter, they thanked health care workers and those on the front line for their efforts during this pandemic.

Cook, a non-roster invitee in Marlins camp, is aiming to make the club, whenever MLB clears teams to reopen their facilities.

The right-hander dealt with a broken toe, which has since healed, in Spring Training. He has been throwing and working out at a facility in Arizona.

“The toe is fine,” Cook said. “There’s no issues with that. … It’s been business as usual, more of an offseason business as usual.”