A’s beat: Dustin Fowler “excited” over impending return.
MESA, Ariz. — The last time Dustin Fowler was in a baseball game, it was a dream come true, his major-league debut with the New York Yankees.
Less than 30 minutes later, Fowler was done for the season. While chasing a foul ball, he ran full tilt into an unpadded electrical box and suffered a gruesome injury, an open rupture of the right patellar tendon. He never even got a chance to come to the plate.
Sunday, Fowler will be back in action, playing center field in his Oakland A’s debut — and batting leadoff. “Make sure we get him an at-bat!” manager Bob Melvin said.
“I’m so excited,” said Fowler, who got the green light to play from Dr. Charles Bush-Joseph on Friday in Chicago. “It was great news yesterday, finally hearing the doctor say I was cleared.
“It’s been a long time coming. We’ll see how rusty I am, but I’m happy to get out there and feel like a baseball player again.”
Fowler, 23, was acquired in the Sonny Gray deal with New York last summer, along with starter James Kaprielian and shortstop Jorge Mateo .Ifheis fully healthy, Fowler probably has the inside track on Oakland’s starting center field job over Boog Powell.
Fowler’s girlfriend, Madison Martin, arrived in town Saturday and will be at his Oakland debut.
“She’s tired of hearing me complain about not being out there, so she’s probably thankful,” Fowler said.
Núñez sidelined: Renato Núñez’s push to win a roster spot will be delayed at least a bit. The corner infielder/left fielder strained his left hamstring Saturday while scoring on a single by Sheldon Neuse.
Asked how he’s doing, Núñez said, “Not good.”
Núñez is out of options, and he was set to get more playing time than expected when third Matt Chapman was sidelined by right hand soreness. Núñez, 23, had two hits in the team’s Cactus League opener; Saturday, he walked twice and stole two bases.
“There is never a good time to get hurt, whatever position you’re in,” Núñez said.
Núñez said he’ll know more Sunday about how bad the strain might be. Unless very mild, hamstring strains typically take a minimum of two weeks of recovery time.
With both Chapman and Núñez out, minor-leaguer Neuse is likely to get the bulk of playing time at third, with Chad Pinder and non-roster minor-league free agent Steve Lombardozzi and Nick Noonan also available. Mark Canha has played third, but he’s a long shot to get much time there.
Gossett scratched, Puk to start: Daniel Gossett won’t make his first scheduled start of the spring, sidelined by back stiffness, so 6-foot-7 left-hander A.J. Puk will be on the mound against the Royals on Sunday.
“I’m looking forward to getting out there, getting some game action,” Puk said. “I’m really excited.”
Puk has a slightly different look from this time last season; he added a two-seam fastball halfway through last year and he’s mixing it in as a nice complement to his 97 mph fourseamer and his slider.
Melvin said the A’s will have a better idea about how much time Gossett might miss in the next few days, but the injury doesn’t sound severe.