JUPITER, Fla. -- The nature of the business works in mysterious ways.
A.J. Puk was all set up for Spring Training in Arizona when the Marlins acquired him from the A's for JJ Bleday on Saturday. Puk packed up his things, arrived in South Florida on Tuesday afternoon and took his physical on Wednesday morning to join his new club.
As fate would have it, Puk has reunited with one of his best friends in baseball: Jesús Luzardo. Once expected to be a formidable left-handed duo in Oakland's rotation, the former top prospects found themselves wearing Marlins gear and playing catch on a back field at the Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium complex.
The pair became close in 2019, when Puk was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Luzardo, whom the Nationals had dealt to the A's in '17, had dinged up his shoulder and needed to remain behind after camp ended. Puk had an extra bedroom at his place and asked Luzardo if he wanted to move in. They wound up spending the entire year rehabbing together, then made their Major League debuts less than a month apart in '19.
"It was great," Puk said. "We became pretty good buddies throughout the years from that, and even when he was traded [in 2021], we were still ... in communication quite a bit. I'd come visit him in Florida when I was staying out in Arizona for the offseason. It's been a good relationship. Real happy to be here and just be back in Florida."
"It’s extremely exciting,” added Luzardo. “I found out, and then he called me right away. It’s exciting. We lived together when I was over in Oakland for parts of three seasons, and then two offseasons together. That’s one of my very close friends, best friends. I’m excited to have him. Great piece of the team and a great addition to the clubhouse. Great guy. Great clubhouse guy.”
The Marlins are certainly excited to add Puk's electric stuff to the pitching staff.
A converted reliever, Puk's extension ranked in the 96th percentile and his average fastball velocity (96.6 mph) in the 90th percentile in 2022, per Statcast. His fastball/slider combination played a pivotal role during his first full season, as he recorded a 1.15 WHIP, four saves and a 120 ERA+ in 62 appearances. He held left-handed batters to a .153 average.
"It was definitely big for me personally," Puk said of 2022. "I know there was, like, some question marks, just kind of had some tough luck. I always knew I could go a full year, and [there was] just kind of a little rough patch to start my career. Now I'm feeling really good, really healthy right now, just excited where my body's at. Excited for another year."
Added Luzardo: "He’s found his stride. He’s comfortable in the role that he’s at. Obviously, the stuff’s electric and he works really hard. There’s no ceiling for him."
Oakland had told Puk he would be stretched out to be a starter this Spring Training, so he added a splitter and worked on a sweeping slider and a cutter over the offseason. But Puk acknowledged that Miami wants to use him primarily in a bullpen role. Open to whatever roles are asked of him, Puk called high-leverage situations the "fun part of the ballgame."
Puk anticipated throwing all of his pitches early in camp so he and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. could decide what his arsenal will look like out of the bullpen.
"The acquisitions of Puk, [Matt] Barnes, [JT] Chargois, and to give us options on top of [Tanner] Scott, [Steven] Okert, [Tommy] Nance, [Dylan] Floro, creates a much deeper bullpen," Stottlemyre said. "[Having] some guys with some swing-and-miss stuff at the back is going to give our manager some nice options. We're probably going to mix and match back there and give the guys the ball, and they'll step up and define their roles as we go. Some guys that have done it and had experience back there, and it's a much better feeling going into the spring with those guys that we have back there. So lots of great options."