Marlins left-hander A.J. Puk was within the Marlins’ rotation to begin this yr earlier than touchdown on the injured checklist however he can be moved again to the bullpen when he’s wholesome. Supervisor Skip Schumaker handed the information alongside to Christina De Nicola of MLB.com right this moment.
It’s not essentially a shock that the Marlins are making this resolution because the plan to maneuver Puk to the rotation acquired off to a horrible begin. His first 4 outings resulted in 14 earned runs allowed over 13 2/3 innings. He struck out 12 opponents however gave out walks to 17 of them earlier than touchdown on the IL over the weekend attributable to fatigue in his throwing shoulder.
There was some logic to the plan, as Puk was as soon as a highly-touted prospect within the Athletics’ system who was seen as a future main league starter. Nonetheless, he required shoulder surgical procedure in 2020 after which additionally had another well being points, together with a strained left biceps and nerve irritation in his left elbow.
The A’s determined to maneuver Puk to a aid position after these accidents and the preliminary outcomes had been good. In 2022, Puk tossed 66 1/3 innings out of their bullpen with a 3.12 earned run common, putting out 27% of batters confronted. They flipped him to the Marlins for JJ Bleday previous to 2023, and Puk continued to have success as a reliever in Miami. His ERA ticked up barely to three.97 however his strikeout fee additionally jumped to 32.2%.
After two years of success as a reliever, it’s comprehensible why the Marlins thought the time was proper for him to see if he might transfer again to the rotation. From a crew standpoint, they’d seen their rotation depth thinned out by the trades of Pablo López and Jake Eder, in addition to the Tommy John surgical procedure of Sandy Alcántara. Since transferring Puk to the rotation, that depth was additional thinned by Eury Pérez additionally requiring Tommy John, whereas Edward Cabrera and Braxton Garrett battled less-significant accidents.
However the poor outcomes and Puk’s shoulder harm appear to have satisfied the Marlins to surrender on the experiment, at the very least for now. He’ll transfer again to the bullpen when he returns from the IL and can hopefully re-establish himself in that position.
The Marlins can management Puk for 2 extra seasons past the present marketing campaign. Given their poor begin this season, they’re trending in direction of being sellers on the deadline this summer season. Puk might maybe be made out there however the additional years of management additionally imply that they might resolve to hold onto him.
The Miami rotation presently consists of Cabrera, Jesús Luzardo, Trevor Rogers and Ryan Weathers. Tonight’s starter is Sixto Sánchez however he’s unlikely to provide the membership a lot size since he’s largely been pitching single-inning appearances this yr and hardly pitched in any respect within the three earlier years attributable to ongoing shoulder issues.
Schumaker appears open-minded about Sánchez taking the ball once more, telling De Nicola it relies on how issues go tonight, however Garrett can also be nearing a return. Per De Nicola, the lefty is deliberate for 4 innings and/or 60 pitches in a Triple-A rehab begin on Friday.
