Injuries behind him, Luzardo is ready to roll
MESA, Ariz. — Jesús Luzardo, one of the two rookies in the A’s rotation, took the mound for the first time this spring camp Thursday and he was feelin’ fine.
“It’s the best I’ve felt in over a year,” said Luzardo, who dealt with shoulder and lat strains last season. “The stuff is still coming along. I’m slowly working up, but healthwise, everything is great.”
The 22yearold lefthander is happy that manager Bob Melvin said this week there won’t be strict innings limitations on him or fellow rookie starter A.J. Puk, who had Tommy John surgery in April 2018.
“That’s awesome,” he said. “It’s a testament to BoMel and the training staff that we can all work together and see how Puk and I are feeling, build off that. That’s big for us.”
Austin Allen caught Luzardo’s bullpen session at Fitch Park and Allen — who has faced Luzardo as a hitter in the minor leagues — said Luzardo was just as nasty as always. “He looks like he’s ready for the season right now,” Allen said.
A’s add catcher: Collin Theroux, who was at DoubleA Midland last year, joined camp as a nonroster player, giving the A’s a full spring complement of six catchers.
“I’m all for guys who can catch and throw and understand how to call a game, and my understanding is he can do that,” Melvin said of glowing reports he’d gotten on Theroux as a receiver.
Melvin said the addition of Theroux might make signing an older catcher (such as Jonathan Lucroy or Russell Martin) less likely. “It probably looks like we go forward with the group we have right now,” Melvin said.
Briefly: Melvin said Sean Manaea’s slider looked particularly good in his first bullpen session and added, “He’s off to a good start.” ... Manaea is sporting hair he describes as “greenish yellow.” “I bleed green and gold,” he said . ... Melvin had praise for some nonroster pitchers including Jaime Schultz, Jordan Weems and Ian Gardeck after their throwing sessions . ... Weems has long blond hair a la Puk and Melvin referred to him as “Noah Syndergaard” after the Mets’ similarly coiffed pitcher. Weems has been getting called “Thor” (Syndergaard’s nickname) in the clubhouse. “He looked like he was throwing about 100 mph,” Melvin said.