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A.J. Puk has been used in a variety of ways in his young big-league career. The former A's top prospect was used as a reliever while in Oakland and continued his relief role upon a trade to the Marlins prior to the 2023 season. In fact, the southpaw was used as the team's closer to begin the 2023 season before moving back into a high-leverage bullpen role and even used as a multi-inning bullpen arm.
However, with injuries decimating the club's rotation to begin the 2024 season, the 29-year-old won a rotation job out of camp. That said, Puk was shelled for a 9.22 ERA alongside an insane 22.1% BB% through four starts before hitting the 15-day injured list due to a shoulder injury. He last appeared on April 19 when he was lit up for seven earned runs in just three innings of work.
A.J. Puk In play, run(s) to Miguel Amaya pic.twitter.com/KQ3qcQBKdR
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Putting a major damper on his value is the fact Marlins skipper Skip Schumaker recently came out and said that Puk would return to a bullpen role when he returns from the injured list. His fantasy value was already on the decline but it's a big dagger to his value, for now. Let's look at what Puk's current injury means and see if there are any updates on his situation.
A.J. Puk Injury Update for Fantasy Baseball
At this time, there doesn't appear to be any firm update on Puk's injury status other than the fact he won't return to the starting rotation.
He is early into his IL stint, so it makes sense that a timetable is unclear. It may be another week or longer before an update is available for the left-hander.
A.J. Puk Fantasy Baseball Outlook
As noted, the fact Puk is moving back to the bullpen puts a hard cap on his fantasy value. Now, not all is doom and gloom as there may be some hope after all.
First, Puk will likely be used in high-leverage situations despite his disastrous trial in the rotation. He was an effective reliever with a 3.97 ERA in 58 outings last season. However, he was better than that surface ERA suggests as he also posted a 3.02 xFIP, 2.66 SIERA, and a big-time 26.9% K-BB% across his 56.2 innings of work. He could still deliver value to fantasy managers participating in leagues that reward holds.
There is also the fact that current closer Tanner Scott is likely due to regress significantly moving forward if he can't get his control, or lack thereof, figured out. Scott owns a 3.38 ERA in 11 outings but also a 5.94 xFIP and a 6.21 SIERA thanks to the fact he was walked a massive 22.6% of the batters he has faced to this point. Scott got his control more or less figured out with a 7.8% BB% last season but keep in mind he sports a career 13.1% BB%. This isn't the first time he has struggled with free passes.
As a result, perhaps Puk can usurp the closer's role at some point. Of course, he would need to get his own stuff figured out first and won't likely see save chances right away upon his return. However, fantasy managers should keep a close eye on both Puk and Scott over the next few weeks as a potential closing role isn't out of the question given Puk's success last season and Scott's lack of success this time around.
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