Marlins observations: Puk begins case to make rotation, an early standout, injury updates

Miami Marlins left-handed pitcher A.J. Puk’s attempt to return into a starting pitching role has begun.

His first impression was a good one.

Puk threw two shutout innings in the Marlins’ 7-1 spring training loss to the New York Mets on Tuesday at Clover Park, with his only blemish being a one-out walk to Francisco Alvarez in the first inning.

Puk struck out three of seven batters he faced — Tyrone Taylor swinging on a splitter, Luke Voit swinging on a sweeper and Ben Gamel looking on a sweeper.

“Felt great,” Puk said. “I was excited to go out there and start again. I just want to go out there, get in the strike zone with all my pitches and work on the pitches I’ve worked on this offseason.”

All of Puk’s MLB experience — 142 appearances over four seasons — has come as a reliever. He began last season, his first in Miami after being acquired in an offseason trade with the Oakland Athletics, as the Marlins’ closer before moving to a setup role after the All-Star Break in favor of Tanner Scott and David Robertson.

But after being a starter in college and the early stages of his pro ball career, Puk has yearned for the opportunity to return to the mound in a starting role.

Miami is giving him that chance. Right now, only two spots in the rotation appear to be locks in Opening Day starter Jesus Luzardo and right-handed pitcher Eury Perez. Braxton Garrett might not be ready for Opening Day as he deals with shoulder soreness. Puk, Edward Cabrera, Trevor Rogers, Ryan Weathers and Max Meyer are among the leading candidates to round out the rotation.

“The opportunity’s there for him, just like a lot of other guys,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “It’s gonna be a battle for those last couple spots, and he’s in the mix.”

As a reliever, Puk almost exclusively threw a four-seam fastball and sweeper. As he transitions back to a starting role, he has added a splitter, cutter and two-seam fastball into the mix.

“He’s still really good at what he did last year,” catcher Nick Fortes said. “It’s just adding more weapons to get him deeper into games. He pounded the zone really well. That’s going to be a point of emphasis.”

Tristan Gray making early impression

The Marlins have hit just two home runs through their first four spring training games.

Both have been hit by the same player: Tristan Gray, a non-roster invitee to spring training who could serve as valuable infield depth if he doesn’t crack the Opening Day roster.

His first was a 355-foot line drive to right field against the St. Louis Cardinals’ Michael McGreevy (the Cardinals’ No. 14 prospect, according to Baseball America) on Saturday. The second was a 415-foot shot to straightaway center field on Tuesday against the Mets’ Jorge Lopez, who has 230 career MLB appearances and was an All-Star in 2022.

“A lot of it is try not to do too much,” Gray said. “The homers are nice, but I found that when I tried to hit homers, they go away. Today, I was really focused on going to left-center and sure enough I was able to get one to straightaway.”

Gray is a career .236 hitter in the minor leagues with a .761 on-base-plus-slugging mark. He has hit 108 career home runs in the minor leagues, with 63 of those coming over the past two seasons with Tampa Bay’s Triple A affiliate, the Durham Bulls.

Defensively, he has experience playing all four infield spots.

“He’s had power his whole career [and is a] good defender,” Schumaker said. “Being a complete hitter is probably the goal for him — not just the 30 home runs but being a complete hitter. ... He’s shown up so far.”

Latest on Tim Anderson

Shortstop Tim Anderson participated in live batting practice on the back fields in Jupiter on Tuesday, facing non-roster invitee Vladimir Gutierrez.

Schumaker said the plan is to get Anderson into spring games once he is ready.

“We want to make sure his legs are underneath him,” Schumaker said. “I’m not trying to have him pull an oblique on his first at-bat or anything like that.”

Injury updates

▪ Garrett said he is not going “100 percent” in his bullpen sessions yet. “We’re building volume,” Garrett said. “That’s kind of just what we’re doing now. Trying to stack good days.”

▪ Right-handed pitcher JT Chargois (neck spasms) remains day-to-day.