The Oakland A’s have placed pitcher A.J. Puk on the injured list with a shoulder strain, reports Susan Slusser of the S.F. Chronicle. He will be replaced in the rotation by Daniel Mengden, adds Slusser.
Puk was scheduled to be part of the A’s starting rotation to begin the season. The lefty is one of the top prospects in the entire sport, and he made a solid debut in the majors last September. He had a setback in the original spring training with his shoulder and then recovered while the sport was shut down for the coronavirus pandemic, but now it has flared up again and he’s off to go see Dr.