The Oakland Athletics went into the 2020 season with high hopes for young pitcher A.J. Puk. After making his debut in August of last year, many expected Puk to step in next year and claim his rightful place in the starting rotation.
Unfortunately, a spring training injury threatened to halt that plan.
Puk was shut down in early March after he experienced some discomfort in his throwing shoulder during a scheduled bullpen session. An MRI revealed no structural damage, but a mild shoulder strain.
On one hand, it was encouraging to hear that Puk’s injury wasn’t serious — especially given his history with Tommy John surgery.