Reviewing one of the key members of the “if only they had stayed healthy” crew.
Overview
- Rating: 6.35
- 2025 Stats: 8 IP, 0-0 W/L, 3.38 ERA, 133 ERA+, 79 ERA, 0.2 bWAR, 0.0 fWAR
- Date of Birth: 25 pril 1995
- 2025 Earnings: $2,950,000
- 2026 Status: Third year arbitration eligible, tendered
2025 Review
When the Diamondbacks entered the 2025 season, they did so with a solid rotation headed by Corbin Burnes and Zac Gallen. Likewise, the bullpen looked stacked, with Justin Martinez, Ryan Thompson, and A.J. Puk helping to solidify the back end of games. Ryan Thompson had already established himself as a quality set-up arm. Justin Martinez was enjoying life with a spiffy new contract to be the team’s closer of the future. And then there was the fireballer lefty, Puk, who showed promise as both a set-up man and as a closer. In essence, the Diamondbacks had decent depth in the bullpen for the first time in a very long time.
Alas, the Diamondbacks were unable to even get out of the month of May before that deep pitching staff was almost entirely destroyed. Puk pitched his final game of the season on 17 April. It was a four-batter save, his fourth save of the young season.
Although it took a while to reach the decision, Puk eventually went under the knife, undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery at the end of June. Without Puk around, the team was left with dicey coverage at closer when Martinez too went to the IL. When joined by the likes of Corbin Burnes, Zac Gallen, Gabriel Moreno, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., and Ryan Thompson (amongst others), Arizona learned first-hand that there really is no such thing as “too much depth” on the roster.
2026 and Beyond
A general rule of thumb regarding Tommy John surgery recovery is that it takes about a year for a pitcher to be ready to get back on the mound again. With Puk being a big-bodied flamethrower, there is plenty of reason to be cautious and allow for an extra bit of recovery time. Entering the winter, there were some that wondered if Arizona would forego their last season of control over Puk and allow him to explore free agency while still recovering. The Diamondbacks were not so quick to give up on the young man though and instead tendered him for 2026. Because of the amount of time missed in 2025 and how much more time he will miss in 2026, it seems likely Puk’s final trip through arbitration will result in a salary essentially the same as what he earned in 2025. If Arizona is fortunate, Puk will return to the roster before the trade deadline, giving Arizona some wiggle room. If Arizona is even luckier still, Puk will return by the deadline and also be a highly-effective late-inning, high leverage arm again, showing little or no evidence of his injury. Should that happen, Arizona will have some hard decisions to make
Category: General Sports
