San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Puk excited for A’s 60game ‘sprint’
A.J. Puk showed up to A’s training camp with his shoulderlength hair shorn off and a joke ready for any surprised teammates.
“Some people didn’t recognize me,” Puk said.
He told them he was the player the A’s received in the Jorge Mateo trade.
Puk hadn’t cut his hair since being drafted by the A’s in 2016 — but any confusion on their part would have dissipated when the 6foot7 lefthander toed a mound last week feeling, he said, the better for baseball’s monthslong shutdown.
Before spring training halted, Puk had suffered a mild shoulder strain that might have kept him from opening the season in the rotation as the A’s figured to be cautious with the 25yearold, who had Tommy John surgery in 2018.
During the break, which he spent at home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Puk completed his rehab work, playing catch with his siblings until he returned to throwing off a mound. Puk said he also worked to “clean up” his mechanics — improving his direction toward home plate and raising his arm angle — sending video to pitching coach Scott Emerson and trainers for feedback.
As a result, Puk said, the “pinching sensation” he felt in his shoulder this spring is gone. He also began running more and reported to camp about 10 pounds lighter.
“I think everything’s coming together,” Puk said on a video conference Friday, “and it’s a good spot to be in.”
A’s manager Bob Melvin said Puk, who threw two innings in his first simulated game action last week, is on pace with the team’s other starters building up to the July 24 season opener.
Melvin said the A’s were hoping to have full rookie seasons this year from lefthanders Puk and Jesús Luzardo, who has yet to be at camp after testing positive for the coronavirus. Puk said the 60game season could actually be beneficial as he probably would have been on an innings restriction anyway after throwing just 362⁄3 total innings in 2019 returning from surgery.
“Now it will be 12 starts — and hopefully some playoff