Bassitt a Big Relief for A's as a Starter

Chris Bassitt started most of last year, but he was the odd man out until A.J. Puk came down with an injury. Bassitt is happy to fill in as needed.

Up to this point in the spring, Chris Bassitt’s chances of starting the season in the Oakland A’s starting rotation were slim.

Now, they are a little more robust.

Bassitt, who had a good turn for the A’s as a starter in 2019 (10-5, 3.81 in 28 games, 25 of them starts), was pushed into a start Tuesday against the White Sox when the A’s decided to scratch rookie left-hander A.J. Puk because of reported mild shoulder strain issues.

Bassitt was rocked for a single and a two-run Nicky Delmonico home run in the first inning, but he was solid after that, giving up no more hits. In three innings, he allowed two hits and two walks.

“The first inning I was just trying to establish my fastball, work it in and out,” Bassitt told the A’s media scrum. “I think I only threw one off-speed pitch in the first inning. (I was) just getting a feel for my fastball.”

Manager Bob Melvin was pleased with what he saw.

“(It was) just one pitch,” the manager said, referring to the Delmonico home run. “I thought after that he threw the ball pretty good, all his pitches. He’s just trying to get ready. (I’m) not worried about one home run.”

The A’s came into the spring believing that Puk and fellow left-handed rookie Jesus Luzardo, who like Puk pitched only in relief in MLB debuts last year, would join Mike Fiers, Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea in the rotation.

By definition, that would squeeze Bassitt out into a bullpen/spot starter role. However, Puk and Luzardo haven’t thrown a ton of innings in their careers, so Melvin and pitching coach Scott Emerson came into the spring wanting Bassitt stretched out to be a starter. There was some thought that Bassitt could get a bunch of starts or pitch repeatedly in long relief to keep the innings count down for Puk and Luzardo through their rookie seasons.

So, getting the start Tuesday with Puk sidelined indefinitely  fit into the overall plan.

“Right now, I’m built up just as much as the (other) starters are built up,” Bassitt said. “I threw three innings today. I think it might build up to four or five innings before the season starts. You can obviously go down from there or stay there and keep starting, so that aspect is pretty easy.

“I felt really good. First-pitch strikes kind of sucked, but overall I felt really good.”