Elbow strain expected to sideline A's pitcher Jharel Cotton

MESA, Arizona - The A's learned the MRI results on Jharel Cotton's right elbow, and it's not what they were hoping to hear.

After meeting with Dr. Will Workman in Walnut Creek on Wednesday, an MRI on Thursday revealed Cotton has a strained flexor muscle and sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. The A's will look for a second opinion, but with UCL tears often leading to Tommy John surgery, Cotton's chances of making the starting rotation come opening day are likely derailed.

“I guess anything is possible,” manager Bob Melvin said when asked about the possibility of surgery.

The news comes as a disappointment for the A's. Cotton had put together a strong start to his spring, posting a 3.75 ERA with 16 strikeouts and just six walks through 12 innings of work.

Andrew Triggs, who is recovering from left hip surgery and impressed in his last outing by turning in three perfect innings with four strikeouts against the Cubs, will get the start in Cotton's place Saturday against the Giants. With the club likely to keep top pitching prospect A.J. Puk in the minors to start the season, Triggs likely has the inside track for a spot in the rotation come opening day.

Despite the lack of experience among the starting pitchers, Melvin said he is confident with the list of candidates to follow Kendall Graveman and Sean Manaea for the remaining spots in the rotation, which includes Triggs, Paul Blackburn, Daniel Mengden and Daniel Gossett.

“You have what you have,” Melvin said. “Everybody else that potentially would be fighting for a spot has had success before. Predominantly young and maybe not much of a track record, but we feel good about all of them.”

Though Puk is a long shot to make the rotation, Melvin is still not closing the door on him potentially making the team out of spring training.

“He's still here. So we'll see where it goes,” Melvin said. “He doesn't have a lot of experience, none at the big league level. But he's still here and now he's got his own day to start.”

PUK'S START

It appears A's top pitching prospect Puk is human after all.

After allowing no earned runs through his first three appearances of the Cactus League, Puk lasted just 2? innings as he was touched up for four runs on three hits, three walks, and a wild pitch in Thursday's 6-2 loss to the Mariners. He registered just one strikeout on the night.

While Puk's fastball reached 97 mph at one point this spring, his fastball velocity dropped to about 90-91 mph on radar guns from scouts in attendance after the first inning.

“Maybe we haven't seen the velocity that he has,” Melvin said. “I thought maybe he threw too many breaking pitches today for a guy that is a power pitcher.”

Puk's struggles came in the third. After a solid first two innings, Puk allowed gave up back-to-back singles to begin the inning, then walked Mitch Haniger on a wild pitch that allowed a run to score. After walking Junior Lake two batters later to load the bases, pushing his pitch count over 30 in the inning, Melvin pulled Puk for left-hander Eric Jokisch.

“It just ended being a lot of pitches in the one inning,” Melvin said. “I would have loved to have seen him try to get out of it with the bases loaded. Maybe just a little off today with his command.”

Puk agreed with Melvin's assessment of his command issues, saying he should have been more aggressive with his fastball.

With opening day just two weeks away, Thursday could have been Puk's final outing with the big league club, as the A's may look to focus on getting their starting rotation aligned going forward.

While fatigue may have led to Puk's decrease in velocity after the first, Puk said he did not feel any signs of wearing down at any point.

“I just didn't get it done,” Puk said. “I felt fine, everything feels good. It was just one of those innings where the pitch count came up on me.”