Puk Gets Cortisone Shot, Unlikely to be back with Athletics Anytime Soon
The news the A’s got on A.J. Puk was about as good as Oakland could have hoped for a day after they put the left-handed rookie starter on the disabled list with shoulder discomfort.
A consultation late Monday in Los Angeles with Dr. Neal ElAttrache led to Puk getting in a shot of cortisone in his left shoulder. He will sit for a few days as the inflamation abaates without throwing, then will gradually be allowed to start throwing again, a little at a time.
“The idea is for him to rest for 48 hours, and then just go through a ramp-up, playing catch, that kind of thing,” manager Bob Melvin said before Tuesday’s exhibition game in San Francisco against the Giants. “He’ll do that for probably two weeks, so it’s going to be a little bit more time.”
Melvin didn’t say so, but that may preclude Puk from doing much work as a starter for the A’s this season. Chris Bassitt and Daniel Mengden are taking over for the moment for Jesus Luzardo (recovering from quarantine) and Puk. The season is only 66 days long, and it may take up to half of that for Puk to build up the arm strength needed to start.
The one thing that is sure is that the A’s aren’t feeling forced to rush Puk back. They see him as a staple of the rotation for years, and they aren’t going to have him tempt injury by pitching too much too soon.
Asked for a time estimate, Melvin demurred.
“No, it just depends on how he gets through this for two weeks. That won’t alter, no matter how good he feels during that period of time.”
In other news:
--Ramon Laureano was back in the lineup Tuesday after being held out of Monday’s game because of a minor calf injury.
--Luzardo, who missed 14 days after testing positive for COVID-19, may be ready to pitch relief on opening day Friday, or at the latest Saturday, Melvin said. “He’ll probably throw one bullpen session between now and then,” Melvin said of Luzardo, who threw two sets of 15 pitches against hitters Monday.
--The A’s are giving everybody the day off Wednesday before returning to the Coliseum Thursday to make final preparations for Friday’s opener against the Angels.
--Second baseman Franklin Barreto, who hoped to win a platoon job, didn’t start at second base in either of the two games against the Giants. Melvin said the plan was for him to play the second half of Tuesday’s game.
--Melvin hinted that the A’s might only carry two catchers on the 40-man roster that has to be finalized before the season starts on Friday. Sean Murphy is a lock to make it, and lefty Austin Allen and switch-hitter Jonah Heim are in contention for the second job. “Whoever is not part of the group we will see at some point in time,” Melvin said. “We go through 45-50 players a year. It’s a luxury to have three young catchers that we're we feel really good about.”
Follow Athletics insider John Hickey on Twitter: @JHickey3
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