D-backs Reliever Focused on Winning the World Series Above All Else

The phrase gentle giant comes to mind when it comes to Arizona Diamondbacks reliever A.J. Puk. The 6'7", 248-pounder was stretched out on a small chair in front of his locker, yet somehow looked comfortable and relaxed.

Always approachable, the soft spoken Puk unfurled his large frame from the chair to stand up. As he towered above me, he broke into a smile and laughed along with this reporter struggling to get his recorder to work. That demeanor comes naturally to him, and makes people feel comfortable around him, unless of course you're standing in the batter's box.

During a live batting practice session on Tuesday, he pitched to teammates, including outfielder Jorge Barrosa. One fastball came boring in, and Barrosa leapt to get out of the way, but to no avail as it struck him on the shin. Just a fastball that got away, not much fun, and clearly painful (he was fine afterwards and played in Wednesday's game) Facing A.J. Puk is never a comfortable at-bat.

Working solely as a reliever from May 13 onwards, Puk simplified his arsenal down to fastball/slider by the time he arrived in Arizona from the Miami Marlins just before the trade deadline. The average fastball velocity had moved up to 96.4 MPH, and he was commanding it. Puk walked just five batters and struck out 43 in 27.1 innings as a Diamondback.

Puk is still rounding into form as he gets ready for the season to start. His fastball has been averaging 95.1 MPH so far this spring. He was open about what he's working on and where he needs to improve so he can get out of the gates strong.

"It's all about he heater command right now, making sure the mechanics are coming together and be able to get that fastball [velocity] up. The slider was pretty good in my live BP, probably the best it's felt. It's getting close, I probably have a handful of more outings before the season starts, but I'm getting close."

The elephant in the room of course is where things stand with the closer's competition and decisions the team has to make both at the front and back end of the bullpen. Puk had taken over the closer's role from Justin Martinez by mid-September, but there weren't all that many save chances as the team slumped and stumbled their way out of the playoffs.

The D-backs entered camp with their manager Torey Lovullo and GM Mike Hazen refusing to name a closer. The team spent much of the offseason trying to acquire a closer, but that never materialized, so they are left to choose from internal options.

That choice has always seemed to come down to Puk or Martinez, with Kevin Ginkel perhaps as a dark horse. With two weeks left before opening day, we are no closer to knowing who is going to capture the role.

Puk refused to let himself get caught up in worrying about it however. "I know everything will get sorted out as the season starts. You've just got to show up and be ready to pitch," he said.

While those words may seem like standard fare you might hear from a player, in Puk's case, he makes you believe it with his earnest delivery. Pressed on what it would mean to be the closer, and if it were a personal goal, he made it clear he has one goal in mind.

"I mean closing is always fun, but at the end of the day I know whatever it is to help the team win, that's the most important thing. Whatever role they have me in to help win games and achieve our final goal of winning the World Series, that's what it's all about. All I want to do is just win."

The Diamondbacks have a lot of strong arms in both the bullpen and rotation, and the pitching is stacked up to be much better than 2024 when they ranked 27th in ERA. The position player group is strong as well. They project to be a high-80's win team, and make the Postseason as one of the Wild Card teams. Puk is excited to be a part of it.

"It's definitely a talented team. it's cool seeing all the guys here. I mean they were in the World Series in 2023, that's something I want to be a part of and these guys want to get back there, it would be cool if we come together and make that happen."

It's up to Torey Lovullo and the front office to figure out the best combination and usage plan. Whatever role Puk is in, closer, co-closer, setup or situational lefty, he is going to be a handful for hitters regardless.