Diamondbacks exec: A.J. Puk has ‘been exactly what we needed’

“Where would the Arizona Diamondbacks be without A.J. Puk?” is a question that by the day becomes more relevant.

The D-backs’ bullpen entered Wednesday with the highest ERA in baseball during September at a whopping 7.53, a significant difference than the results it saw down the stretch last year. Puk, meanwhile, has been arguably the most dominant reliever in MLB since joining Arizona from the Miami Marlins with a ridiculous 42% strikeout rate (fourth in MLB).

The 6-foot-7 left-hander is one of two relievers in the league with at least 22 innings and one earned run or fewer since his D-backs debut on July 27. His 20-game scoreless streak is climbing the franchise leaderboard, as he is six back of Yoshi Hirano (26 in 2018) for the club record.

“A.J. has been exactly what we needed,” assistant general manager Amiel Sawdaye told Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke on Tuesday. “Obviously, he’s given Torey (Lovullo) a guy who he can rely on to come in and put a fire out for the best part of the lineup. And we’ve had that in the past with certain guys, and it’s good to always have that person in your back pocket, but you can’t pitch them every night, as we know.”

No Diamondbacks pitcher has ever started their tenure with an 0.41 ERA through 24 outings before Puk. Doug Slaten (0.60) had the previous best mark, according to Stathead. There’s arguably no trade deadline acquisition doing their job better than Puk even if position players have the greater WAR impact.

Puk’s dominance has been a need for a bullpen that has plenty of arms having excellent seasons but difficult stretches. Chalk it up to heavy usage, the natural ups and downs of being a reliever or what have you, but the Diamondbacks’ bullpen has become a bit of a puzzle.

AJ Puk, K’ing the Side…with 2 Swords. ⚔️⚔️ pic.twitter.com/NmJkhUhzPu

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 25, 2024

“I think it’s hard sometimes for people to remember individual performances. But I think back to last September at this time, there were games where Kevin Ginkel struggled last September at this time and in the playoffs, he was a monster,” Sawdaye said.

“The last couple nights haven’t worked out as well for Gink, but he’s been a mainstay and a stud for us all year. … We’ve seen Thompson get back on track and hit a little bit of a bump in the road a couple weeks ago and get back on track. We have Justin (Martinez) and (Joe) Mantiply and Puk and that group that’s in the bullpen down there. … I do have confidence they’ll right the ship and they’ll definitely be a high-performing group in the next couple weeks.”

Diamondbacks senior vice president and assistant general manager Amiel Sawdaye discusses reliever Kevin Ginkel’s recent struggles with @WolfandLuke.

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Diamondbacks’ bullpen going through ups and downs

Ginkel has had a couple weeks to forget after he entered September on a 12-game scoreless streak. He surrendered the lead in each of his last two appearances but has been Arizona’s trusted fireman all year, moving about in different situations. Thompson has had a sub-2.00 ERA for most of the season, and after a tumultuous August, his last five outings have been closer to what has been expected of him. Mantiply has not allowed an earned run over his last eight appearances.

And Martinez continues to receive the toughest challenges late in games, coming in with runners on and is growing as a potential future closer.

“He’s gotten plenty of reps this year, and you can see he’s kind of embraced that role and he just looks comfortable out there. He’s not scared of any situation, he’s not scared of any hitter,” Mantiply said of Martinez on Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo.

It’s just not as deep a group of pitchers firing at their best as last season, when the bullpen was a prime reason for Arizona’s run to the World Series.

Losing Bryce Jarvis for the year hurts, and the Dylan Floro trade was a dud. Perhaps the most significant departure is a version of Paul Sewald who can lock down the ninth inning. There’s a reason Lovullo had stayed firm that the best version of the bullpen had Sewald in the back end up until recently. Now, Sewald is on the injured list with left neck discomfort, likely ending his regular season at least.

Starting prospects Yilber Diaz and Blake Walston are to eat innings, along with Scott McGough and Brandon Hughes, who have spent most of the year in the minor leagues. That’s essentially half the bullpen stitched together in the past 10 days, which heightens the importance of shutdown innings from the A-team relievers.

“It’s the waves throughout the year you go through, especially as a relievers, they’re constantly going up and down,” Mantiply said of the struggles. “When guys struggle, it’s for probably a bunch of different reasons. I mean, myself, I’ve definitely had my struggles. They come and go, and you try to have a short memory and just get back out there.

“You just hope that you can be the guy that picks us up when somebody’s struggling. Because when I’m struggling, I’m hoping somebody’s gonna pick me up. So that’s just kind of the waves that you ride. Nobody wants to struggle right here at the end in a playoff push but sometimes they come and go and you just hope to get through them.”

The Diamondbacks remain in prime position to reach the postseason with projections of doing so at 77.5% on FanGraphs and 87.9% on Baseball Reference. They have had to win differently than a year ago with an offense that has largely made up for the pitching, although that was not the case the past two losses in Colorado.

Puk has been as reliable as possible, and getting the best version of the other core four (Ginkel, Thompson, Martinez and Mantiply) will create better opportunities for Arizona to clinch and shorten games in the postseason.

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