MLB Calls New Miami Starting Pitcher a 'Blessing'
The Miami Marlins would love some stability in their rotation right now.
Owing to injuries to the trio of Braxton Garrett (shoulder), Eury Pérez (elbow/finger), and Edward Cabrera (shoulder), there are a lot of questions behind Opening Day starter Jesús Luzardo.
Enter...A.J. Puk?
The lefty reliever is converting into a starting pitcher for the Marlins, and it's hard not to be satisfied with what he's done so far in Grapefruit League action: three scoreless outings spanning 8.1 innings, striking out fifteen and walking only four.
Puk has looked so good in March that MLB.com, writing about players making a big impression this spring, called Puk a "blessing" for a team that's dealing with numerous injuries to their projected starting rotation.
When word got around that Miami would build up the soon-to-be 29-year-old Puk to start -- something he has yet to do in the big leagues -- it was met with skepticism. Through three Grapefruit League outings, he has gone 8 1/3 scoreless innings with 15 strikeouts and four walks. With shoulder injuries to Braxton Garrett and Edward Cabrera, plus Eury Pérez's nagging nail issue, Puk’s transition is a blessing to an already-tested rotation. -- Christina De Nicola
It remains to be seen what type of workload Puk can take over a full season, but a transition to the bullpen later in the season could always be a possibility. The most innings Puk has ever pitched in a full season is 2017's 125, coming with Oakland's High-A and Double-A teams while he was still mostly working as a starter. Since converting to relief, he's typically pitched around sixty innings per season.
| Year | Levels | Innings | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|
2021 (Oakland) | AAA/MLB | 62 IP | 6.10 |
2022 (Oakland) | MLB | 66.1 | 3.12 |
2023 (Miami) | AA/MLB | 59.1 | 3.94 |
But there's an obvious path to a full-season of quality contributions from Puk - start him in the rotation and, once several pitchers have returned from injury, move him to the bullpen to limit his total workload over the course of the season.
Both Garrett and Cabrera are expected back in the rotation by late April at the latest, although the long-term status of Pérez is not known until imaging comes back on his sore elbow.
