The Oakland A’s settled some of their Opening Day roster questions on Saturday, but one still remaining involves who will fill in for the injured Mike Fiers as the fifth starter.
One candidate for that job is top prospect A.J. Puk, and the lefty did everything he could to prove he’s ready for it in the A’s latest Cactus League game. He spun four scoreless innings and was nearly perfect, leading the A’s to a 5-1 victory over the Texas Rangers.
Puk missed all of 2020 to a shoulder injury, after previously sitting out all of 2018 for Tommy John surgery, and Saturday marked only his third appearance since returning this spring.