Rotation likely to use backup plan early on
SURPRISE, ARIZ. >> Opening day is just a few weeks away. A handful of lockers at the Oakland A’s clubhouse in Hohokam Stadium already have been cleared out. Faces are disappearing, and others are hanging around.
But, the rotation looks shaped up — with a few kinks.
Excitement has only intensified around one of baseball’s potential marquee rotations. So, a star was bound to fall.
A.J. Puk was shut down the first weekend of March after experiencing some
discomfort in his throwing shoulder during a bullpen session. He had an MRI, which showed some inflammation and a mild shoulder strain, but not structural damage.
“I got real fatigued quick, something I had never felt before,” Puk said.
A smooth spring would have the tall left-hander slated as a cornerstone in the Oakland A’s young rotation come opening day. Puk had Tommy John surgery in 2018, so any tweaks
are cause for some alarm. After feeling that discomfort, Puk and the training staff were certain to progress him with caution.
Puk will start throwing again today, which ultimately means there’s little hope that the 6-foot-7 lefty will be stretched out in time to see him hurl his flaming fastballs as a starter early this season, manager Bob Melvin said. It’s more likely Puk will be coming out of the bullpen — where he first planted his feet as a big leaguer in his 2019 debut to manage his slow return from Tommy John surgery.
There’s a good reason the A’s would consider easing
Puk back into action as a reliever. Out of the bullpen at the end of last season, Puk pitched 11 innings with a 3.18 ERA. He flashed his near-100 mph fastball and devastating slider. But, he lost touch with his command at times.
The A’s have backups. Right-hander Chris Bassitt was slated to be the A’s swingman in the event of a fully-healthy pitching staff. But Bassitt slots into the season-opening rotation seamlessly. In 2019, he posted a 3.95 ERA in 25 starts, staking his rotational claim while Sean Manaea recovered from shoulder surgery the previous September.
“He’s always the sixth hybrid guy were were looking to stretch out regardless, for reasons that pop up, as they did,” Melvin said.
The beauty of this rotation, it seems, is that there’s little hierarchy. The talent is, for the most part, disparate.
Who’ll start opening day? We won’t know until the final week of spring training. It doesn’t seem there’s much concern over the choice, either.
“You look at 1-through-5. I don’t want to say you could pick someone out of a hat, but you really could,” Melvin said. “There’s probably some younger guys that you could want to throw into that. (Jesús) Luzardo could pitch No. 1. in a second, but I don’t know if we want to do that to him.”
Luzardo has certainly flashed ace stuff this spring, striking out 13 with just one earned run, four hits and one walk in 8-1/3 innings.
But, we know that injury history will limit Luzardo (who’s had Tommy John and a shoulder injury last year) and, of course, Puk’s contributions. Their innings aren’t limited, but will be closely monitored. Despite standout stuff, a hard drop into the season might not be the call, as Melvin noted.
Right-handed starter Mike Fiers was the most consistent starter in 2019, posting a 3.90 inflated by an alarmingly slow start to the season. But, with an influx of electric arms around him, opening day might not be 34-year-old Fiers’ slot anymore. All focus will be on how Fiers’ schedule might run into the Houston Astros’ Oakland visit from March 30 to April 1.
Left-handed starter Sean Manaea could be up
for a redemption start after his wild card blunder. The 28-year-old was at his best when he returned from shoulder a injury last September, posting a 1.21 ERA in five games. But he’s struggled this spring, allowing 12 runs in 7-2/3 innings.
The best guess for opening day starter: righthander Frankie Montas, back to prove himself again after his PED suspension last season. Montas has looked like his electric self, allowing zero earned runs (two unearned) in 5.2 innings. He’s collected five strikeouts and walked one while throwing 96-98 mph fastball out of the gate.
Of course, it’s likely that with the bounty of options, the A’s might consider lining up the rotation according to matchup. They play
the left-handed hittingheavy Minnesota Twins twice within the first two weeks of the regular season, which could prompt a left-handed heavy top of the rotation to start the year.
“We tend to discuss things as a group,” Melvin said. “We’ll probably pick a slow news day later on to fill up your notes.”
Puk breezed through his first two Cactus League appearances. He struck out two batters in three innings. He was hitting his normal mph ticks — a high90s fastball with high-80s slider out of the gate. Along with fellow left-handed, highly-touted pitching prospect Jesús Luzardo, Puk is an early candidate to be in the running for American League Rookie of the Year consideration.