A.J. Puk threw a bullpen session Friday at the alternate site in San Jose and is expected to start throwing to hitters in the next two-to-three days. After an expected two sessions against hitters, Puk is expected to return to the A’s in Oakland.
Though he was slated for the rotation before his injury, expect Puk to spend the 2020 season throwing multiple innings out of the bullpen. He won’t have the time within this truncated season to ramp up his pitch count to slide into the rotation while Oakland is sprinting toward the postseason, but he could slide into the reliever role left by an injured Burch Smith.