Cubs trade former first-rounder Brett Jackson

There's no doubting that Brett Jackson had gone from prospect to suspect in the Cubs' system.

The Cubs finally cut ties with the former first-round draft pick, sending the center fielder to the Arizona Diamondbacks for right-handed pitcher Blake Cooper.

The trade was made late Thursday night.

Jackson, 26, was playing for the Cubs' Class AAA Iowa affiliate, where he had a hitting line of .210/.298/.348 with 5 home runs, 20 RBI, 24 walks and 94 strikeouts.

The Cubs took him out of the University of California-Berkeley with their first-round pick (31st overall) in the 2009 amateur draft. In a brief trial with the big club in 2012, Jackson hit .175/.303/.342 with 4 homers and 9 RBI. He also had 59 strikeouts in 120 at-bats.

Cooper, 26, was 4-2 this year with a 3.57 ERA in 41 relief appearances between Class AA Mobile and Class AAA Reno. He was named to the Southern League all-star team.

For his minor league career, Cooper is 16-15 with 16 saves and a 3.27 ERA in 192 outings, all in relief, over five seasons.