The talk heading into spring training last year was that the Oakland A's were going to stretch out reliever A.J. Puk and give him a go in the starting rotation. Then the team traded him to the Miami Marlins in exchange for outfielder JJ Bleday.
Puk had a good first season with the Marlins, posting a 3.97 ERA across 56 2/3 innings and collected 15 saves in the process. Outside of a fairly disastrous July where he held a 10.24 ERA in 11 appearances, Puk was one of the better relief arms in the game.
This spring, Miami is following the game plan that the A's intended to have for the 28-year-old, and they're stretching him out to contend for a spot in the starting rotation. According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the left-hander is a "frontrunner" to land one of the five spots available.
Puk was originally drafted by the A's as a starting pitcher, going sixth overall in the 2016 Draft, but after injuries piled up and he just wasn't getting enough time on the mound to develop properly, the A's decided to see if he could get through a season healthy as a relief pitcher back in 2019. It took a few seasons, but in 2022 he was finally able to put up 66 1/3 innings with Oakland and held a 3.12 ERA, which is what prompted the A's to want to try him as a starter again.
In his season with Miami, his peripheral stats were some of the best of his career with a 12.39 K/9 rate and a 2.06 BB/9. Where he had a little more trouble was in allowing more home runs, giving up 1.59 per nine. On the bright side, home run rates don't tend to carry over year-to-year unless the pitcher is continuously leaving meatballs in the middle of the plate.
It should also be noted that the A's are employing the "let's get him through a season healthy" tactic again this year with right-hander Mason Miller. The 25-year-old has absolutely dominated the minor leagues in his 39 1/3 total innings down there, which led to a promotion to Oakland last season. He made four starts before landing on the IL until September. When he came back he was pitching out of the bullpen, occasionally as an opener.
This year, he could end up as the team's closer, a lot like the path that Puk took with Oakland not so long ago.
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