Athletics southpaw Puk goes on Injured List

The start of the 60-game Major League season is less than a week away, and the Athletics will begin play without one of their top youngsters.

Third-ranked Oakland prospect A.J. Puk was placed on the Injured List on Monday afternoon with a shoulder strain. He met with a doctor in Los Angeles later in the day, MLB.com's Martin Gallegos reported. Tuesday, manager Bob Melvin told reporters Puk received a platelet-rich plasma cortisone injection for the shoulder inflammation.

The southpaw will sit out two days and then begin playing catch, but there is no determination on when Puk will resume regular throwing.

“He’ll rest for 48 hours and just go through a ramp-up for probably two weeks,” Melvin said. “It’s going to be a little bit of time before we see him. They’re not going to push him for two weeks, no matter how good he feels in that period of time.”

Puk was briefly shut down earlier this year after suffering a shoulder strain during Spring Training. MLB.com's No. 60 overall prospect missed all of the 2018 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

As part of the A's 60-man player pool, Puk was expected to be in the mix for a spot in the big league rotation. He pitched briefly in the Majors in 2019, logging a 2-0 record with a 3.18 ERA over 10 appearances in relief. The left-hander struck out 13 batters in 11 1/3 innings.

Puk spent most of last season in the Minors, where he appeared at three different levels. He started off by posting a 6.00 ERA over three starts with Class A Advanced Stockton. In six appearances for Double-A Midland, he registered a 4.32 clip. The 25-year-old finished the year with Triple-A Las Vegas, where he went 4-1 with a 4.91 ERA. He ended the campaign with a 4.97 ERA in the Minors.