On Friday afternoon, the Arizona Diamondbacks made their position clear with regard to a minor roster crunch.
Left-handed starting pitcher Kohl Drake was optioned to Triple-A Reno in favor of reliever Kade Strowd in Arizona's latest roster move.
The Diamondbacks have been rolling with two rookie left-handers in Drake and Mitch Bratt - both of whom came over to Arizona in the Merrill Kelly trade with the Texas Rangers last Deadline.
Both rookies have shown positive signs, but both have also struggled with length and command. Such is often the case with even the most talented rookie arms.
But right-hander Michael Soroka is getting close to a return from his IL stint with a glute injury, so Arizona was going to have to choose between the two lefties. Both frequently sat in the 5.00s in terms of ERA.
So, why was Drake - who is 26 - the casualty over the 23-year-old Bratt? Manager Torey Lovullo explained the move on Friday:
The answer, simply put, was Bratt's most recent performance. Bratt, against a surging San Diego Padres club, put forward not just a strong start, but a dominant, historic one .
Bratt threw seven innings for the first time in his major league career, allowing just one hit, three walks and no runs. He struck out an eye-popping nine batters. Drake, meanwhile, allowed three runs in a bumpy 3.2 innings one game later.
It's a small sample size. Drake's 5.40 ERA is only beaten by Bratt's 3.90 because of that very outing. But that was all the Diamondbacks had to work with in terms of MLB evaluation.
"This game's competitive, and with the two lefties sitting on one another, back-to-back starts, we sliced it as thinly as we could, and what we had to go on was Mitch went seven scoreless, and Kohl, unfortunately, hit some bumps in the road," Lovullo said.
"I don't think [Drake] threw the ball terribly. There were some mistakes defensively that we made behind him that could have led to outs or a possible difference in the outcome. But overall, we just felt like this was the right decision, and we needed the extra reliever [Strowd]."
Jul 21, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Kohl Drake against the Athletics at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Diamondbacks do, also, need a fresh arm after having to dip heavily into their bullpen Thursday night. Strowd, who has given up one run in his last six appearances for Reno, will hopefully provide some length potential in Arizona's bullpen.
It's unlikely to be the end of the road for Drake. His debut was a very strong one , and he's shown some potential in terms of stuff and an ability to strand baserunners. But he'll have to wait just a bit for another chance.
"Overall, it was a tough decision," Lovullo said. "Kohl is somebody that we are going to count on. We love his stuff. We love his arsenal and his pitch mix. He's just got to be a little bit more consistent with it."
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/diamondbacks/onsi as Why Diamondbacks Optioned Kohl Drake Instead Of Mitch Bratt .
