ST. LOUIS -- Prior to Wednesday’s 9-4 win against the Cardinals, the D-backs recalled left-hander Mitch Bratt (D-backs' No. 14 prospect) from Triple-A Reno and designated veteran first baseman Carlos Santana for assignment after activating him from the 60-day injured list.
To make room for Bratt on the 26-man roster, Arizona optioned lefty Kohl Drake to Triple-A. Bratt, who owns a 2.84 ERA with 42 strikeouts and 12 walks over 44 1/3 innings in 11 starts for Reno this season, made his MLB debut on Wednesday.
Despite entering with a roughly 50-pitch limit, Bratt still successfully navigated three innings and allowed just one run on two hits and struck out three. While he lamented wasting a few pitches on two walks, he was able to settle in and feel his feet once he heard the first sign in his PitchCom.
“It’s crazy. A lot of emotions leading up to it,” he said after the D-backs' win. “Finding out two days ago now, it’s been a whirlwind of 48 hours, but yeah, ecstatic. Really happy with how it went.”
He estimated that a group of approximately 20 friends and family members were able to make the trek to St. Louis for his debut, including some who drove up to 13 hours from the greater Toronto area, where Brat is from.
Bratt and Drake were both acquired from the Rangers along with David Hagaman in a trade for Merrill Kelly in July.
“They were both [at Spring Training] early, so it was kind of cool just meeting them, sharing the fact that we’re both D-backs now,” Kelly said.
The D-backs signed Santana to a one-year, $2 million deal over the offseason to be their starting first baseman, but he ended up playing only eight games with the club. Santana went 2-for-24 (.083) in those games before going on the IL with a right adductor strain. He suffered a setback while on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Reno in May, delaying his return.
The D-backs became the ninth team the 40-year-old has played for during a career spanning 17 seasons in the Majors. Much of that time has come with the Guardians over three separate stints with the club, and he also played for the Phillies, Royals, Mariners, Pirates, Brewers, Twins and Cubs before joining Arizona.
With Santana sidelined, the D-backs have given much of the playing time at first base to Ildemaro Vargas.
“I feel terrible that it came to that,” Lovullo said. “He got injured, never really got any footing here. He was getting some playing time, and all of the sudden he was gone. … He’s a great man. He’s been doing it for a very long time at a very high level. We felt like there was a need for him, but things have changed.”
The emergence of Vargas at first, as well as a desire to find opportunities for LuJames Groover and Pavin Smith, shrunk down the opportunities for Santana, and eventually left Arizona in a spot without a clear roster fit as he was returning to health.
“Carlos is an unbelievable teammate and a human being, and we’re going to miss that,” Lovullo emphasized. “It’s the toughest part of this game when you have to say goodbye to somebody like that.”