Bestlaid lefty plans ...

Sean Manaea was meant to be one of three lefthanders in the A’s rotation to open this season. Instead, he’s the lone lefty with A.J. Puk on the injured list and Jesús Luzardo in the bullpen after a late start to training camp.

That forced the A’s to dip into their starting depth earlier than expected, with Chris Bassitt and Daniel Mengden joining the rotation. Manaea, who will pitch Saturday against the Angels, said his confidence in Oakland’s starters remains high.

“We’ve got depth out the wazoo,” Manaea said Friday. “I know guys are going to step up and do what they have to do . ... I feel totally confident going in with who we’ve got.”

Luzardo joined the A’s late because of a positive coronavirus test and faced hitters only once during camp. Manager Bob Melvin said he hoped to give Luzardo a clean inning for his first outing, but after that “it’s just whenever we need him.”

“It’s a big weapon,” Melvin said. “When we bring him in a game, it could be for two innings (and) if it’s more, then his pitch count goes up and gets him ready to assume a starting role that much quicker.”

Puk, dealing with shoulder inflammation, is likely weeks away from returning. He resumed playing catch Friday after receiving injections of plateletrich plasma and cortisone this week. But the A’s don’t intend to rush the rookie, who had Tommy John surgery in 2018. When the A’s take their first road trip, Puk will continue rehabbing at their alternate training site in San Jose.

“It’s going to be at least a couple weeks of just playing catch, and not too far out,” Melvin said. “We’re a ways off before we have an update.” Briefly: Manaea sported a mustache on his video call with reporters Friday. “I just got bored with kind of having a really bad beard,” Manaea said, “so why not just have an OK mustache, you know?” … Shortstop Marcus Semien said there is a cutout of his wife, Tarah, and their sons in the stands down the thirdbase line at the Coliseum. “If I’m having a hard time, I want to look at their face,” he said. “I’ll just go over there.” … Actor Tom Hanks will lend his voice as a virtual “guest hawker” peddling hot dogs and peanuts as part of the crowd noise piped into home games this season, the A’s announced. In the 1970s Hanks, who attended Skyline High in Oakland, sold concessions in the stands at the Coliseum.