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MESA, Ariz. — It was a long shot the entire spring, but the A’s made it official — Pitching phenom A.J. Puk will not make the Opening Day roster.
Puk, 22, was among the nine roster cuts announced Sunday morning, trimming the A’s roster to 39 players.
Despite a strong spring in which he appeared to perform like the best pitcher on the roster, Puk’s inexperience ultimately led to him getting sent down to minor league camp. His half season at Double-A last year was the highest level he’s reached in his career.
Puk allowed no earned runs in his first three appearances this spring, but was touched up for four runs in a start against the Mariners Thursday night in which he lasted just 2 2/3 innings. He posted a 3.38 ERA with seven strikeouts and six walks in 10 2/3 innings of work.
“It got to the point where we were comfortable with the guys that we have here,” manager Bob Melvin said. “There was a lot of speculation with him, and rightly so, based on the way he was pitching. Is it fair to rush him up here just because at one point in time it looked like there was a need? We have several guys pitching pretty well right now, so he’s better off getting some innings down there now and refining his craft.”
Heading into this spring, the A’s were still a bit unsure on whether Puk would be better off as a starter or pitching out of the bullpen. He quickly squashed that notion by showing off a fine repertoire of four quality pitches and a more compact delivery, something the A’s had not seen from him the previous spring.
All that’s left on the A’s checklist for Puk is to get some seasoning at Triple-A, and perhaps even a little more time at Double-A before that.
“The strides that he’s made to get to where he is right now have been really significant,” Melvin said. “It’s just when you’re skipping steps and you really haven’t had that much time, you just worry about where you go with him. We want to make sure to an extent he at least catches all these levels and is that much more prepared once he gets here.”
Though Puk’s fastball velocity sat in the lower 90’s this spring as opposed to the high 90’s he showed in the minors last year, Melvin attributed the slight decrease to Puk working on other layers of his game over the past month. He expects the velocity to pick up as the year goes along.
“I think it’ll get there,” Melvin said. “I think the fact that he was working on different things and really concentrating on his two-seamer and changeup, maybe not at the point in spring yet where the velocity picks up. Some guys get here and they have their velocity right away and certain guys it takes a little bit.”
Pitchers Chris Bassitt, Kyle Finnigan, Eric Jokisch, catcher Sean Murphy, and position players Steve Lombardozzi, Anthony Garcia, Slade Heathcott, and Nick Martini were the others reassigned to minor league camp.
Bassitt, who was optioned to Triple-A Nashville, was visibly frustrated as he left the clubhouse Sunday. Battling back from Tommy John surgery, Bassitt struggled this spring, posting a 7.11 ERA with five strikeouts and six walks over six games as he worked to build his velocity back up. He had hoped to battle for a spot in the starting rotation, but the A’s were looking to utilize him in more of a bullpen role.
“We weren’t really sure with him. We were trying to do what’s best for him and us,” Melvin said. “Things over the course of spring changed and we never really got him out there long enough to get a look at him in a potential starter role. We’ll see where it goes. I’m not sure what they have planned for him once he leaves here.”
