A.J. Puk Talks Changeup, Bullpen Depth, and More

A.J. Puk is set to be one of the most important relievers for the Arizona Diamondbacks this year. Whether or not he will be a closer, Puk is arguably the most crucial arm in the bullpen for the team.

Puk spoke about getting back on a mound in a game setting and said, "I'm not too concerned about velocity this early in spring training. Whatever comes out, comes out. More so, just want to get a feel for the zone and just feel how my off-speed pitches are moving and everything else will come together."

Over 57.2 innings last year, Puk had just a 1.72 ERA as a reliever across his two teams. Over his first 29 outings with Arizona, he had just a 0.33 ERA with 43 strikeouts and five walks. It was one of the best half-season performances by a D-backs' reliever in team history, even including his tough outing against the Padres to end the season.

Puk is in a competition with Kevin Ginkel, Justin Martinez, and potentially even Kendall Graveman for the closer's job. Manager Torey Lovullo said that handedness wouldn't be a factor, so despite Puk being left-handed, he certainly has the chance to be the team's closer.

That's despite the fact that his ability to be a lethal weapon in the game's most intense situations -whether that's the 7th, 8th or 9th inning - could be extremely valuable instead of locking him into the 9th inning.

Puk throws a high-90s fastball and a wipeout slider that has made it very difficult for hitters to be able to square him up. However, that hasn't stopped Puk from trying to improve his arsenal with a changeup.

In his first outing earlier this week, he threw a changeup that obtained a swing-and-miss, which made Puk glad.

"Good, one-for-one so far. I threw one good one yesterday for a swing-and-miss. I'm going to just keep working on and just keep throwing in games and see how the hitters react to it and try to game plan that in going towards when the season starts."

Ian Happ was the batter who swung and missed. It was the last batter Puk faced and he threw it when the count was 0-1 to the right-handed batter. Having a good changeup would be a versatile and valuable weapon for Puk to have to counter right-handed batters.

So far this Spring, over two appearances, Puk has thrown two scoreless innings with a walk, three strikeouts, and no hits allowed. It appears he's picked up right where he left off from 2024.

This is a return to normal for Puk as he returned to being a full-time reliever to start Spring Training after spending all of last year's Spring Training preparing to be a starting pitcher with the Marlins, before the experiment came to an end four starts into the year.

"A lot less pitches I got to throw, that's for sure. It's the same thing. I'm comfortable with the relieving spot and just getting out there and making sure my arm's recovering. As we get closer to the season, those back-to-backs come up. It's all about recovery and just getting a good feel for my arm right now," Puk said.

Compared to this time last year, the Diamondbacks' overall pitching staff is much deeper, and that's especially true for the bullpen. There's a high degree of probability of proven MLB talent such as Shelby Miller, Drey Jameson, Bryce Jarvis, and more players being stuck in Triple-A because there's not enough room in the bullpen.

Asked about the team's newfound depth in the bullpen after the signings of Miller and Graveman, Puk said, "It's great seeing all the guys and seeing all the work they're putting in right now. It's definitely exciting to see what we're going to be able to do this year. Definitely a lot of new guys coming in with the guys that were here last year, so it's definitely going to be cool to see."

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