A’s No. 1 prospect A.J. Puk suffered a big setback after being shutdown last week.
The highly-touted young pitcher will undergo left shoulder surgery next Wednesday, A’s manager Bob Melvin said Friday.
The extent of the surgery yet is unknown, but it's not a good sign for Puk.
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Oakland was optimistic about having Puk activated soon, but that’s not the case.
Puk originally was expected to join the A’s starting rotation this season, but during spring training, he was pulled early after a left shoulder strain. He appeared to be making progress while throwing at the San Jose alternate training site, but he suffered another setback last weekend.
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In April 2018, Puk underwent Tommy John surgery which forced him to miss the entirety of the season, and the southpaw will be forced to sit out once again.
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The 25-year-old was drafted by the A’s in the first round of the 2016 draft. He posted a 3.18 ERA and 1.324 WHIP in 11.1 innings of relief last season while striking out 13.