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. Righthander 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.

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.

The best guess for opening day starter: right-hander 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.

The A’s shut down the Texas Rangers 5-0 in late spring training action Monday night.