Sardinas makes Crew debut on 22nd birthday
Shortstop acquired from Texas, bolstering Brewers' depth at position
NEW YORK -- The most advanced player acquired in the Yovani Gallardo trade made his Brewers debut on Saturday. Luis Sardinas knows the stakes involved in his first big league audition for his new team.
"We've got a lot of shortstops here," said Sardinas, who was called up Thursday when the Brewers placed starting shortstop Jean Segura on the disabled list with a fractured finger. "There's a pretty good competition to make the team at shortstop.
"It's good when you have competition because you make goals. You want to play hard, you want to [show] the organization, 'I want it.' Now, for me, it's really important, because I want to stay here for a long time. I don't want to go back to Triple-A."
Sardinas turned 22 on Saturday and celebrated by making his 16th Major League start, going 2-for-3 in the the Brewers' 14-1 setback. He appeared in 43 games last season for the Rangers, who packaged Sardinas with Minor League pitchers Corey Knebel and Marcos Diplan in a January trade for Gallardo.
Sardinas bolstered the richest position in the Brewers' organization. Besides Segura (25) and Sardinas, the team has Yadiel Rivera (23) at Triple-A Colorado Springs, Orlando Arcia (20) at Double-A Biloxi, Jake Gatewood (19) at Class A Wisconsin and Gilbert Lara (17) in extended spring training. Arcia is No. 1 on MLB.com's list of top Brewers prospects, Gatewood is No. 5, Lara No. 6 and Rivera No. 23.
Some of those players may eventually move off shortstop, but for now the position is a strength.
Sardinas, a switch-hitter, hopes to use his time in the big leagues to make a further impression.
"That's my goal, to come back to the big leagues as soon as possible," he said. "Now I'm here. I'm happy for that. I'm happy the Brewers gave me the opportunity."