The Arizona Diamondbacks swapped struggling rookie Kohl Drake for veteran reliever Derek Law.
The Arizona Diamondbacks haven't been able to go all in on left-handed pitcher Kohl Drake this season.
Drake, 26, is a -0.3 WAR player in his first stint in the big leagues.
He's bounced around quite a bit already this year, and as of Saturday, Aug. 29, the team has once again optioned him to Triple-A Reno.
Drake was coming off a rough four-inning start where he allowed five earned runs on four hits. Seeing as that was his fifth career start, those five runs were the most he's allowed in an outing throughout his young MLB career.
In the corresponding move, Arizona selected right-handed pitcher Derek Law, an experienced arm who should see the mound and make his D-backs debut as part of a doubleheader against the San Francisco Giants.
Law to make D-backs debut against his former team
All the way back in 2011, the Giants selected Law with the No. 297 overall pick.
Law was a ninth-round draft pick, and the now 35-year-old has seen his fair share of playing time in the MLB.
In his 8.1 innings in the minors this year, Law has a strong 1.08 ERA to go along with his 1-0 record. He's a true reliever, having only started seven of his 288 career games in the minors, and that goes hand-in-hand with his seven starts in his 322 big-league games.
Law didn't pitch in the majors last season, but he was 7-4 with the Washington Nationals in 2024. Overall, he's 23-18 in his eight-year career with a respectable 3.69 ERA.
Obviously, the big story here is Law has yet to pitch for the D-backs, but he's going to do so for the first time against the team that drafted him.
There's nothing quite like the National League West, and now Law has a revenge game of sorts, though it's worth noting this will be the seventh MLB team he's played for going back to 2016.
Drake's time will come
The D-backs clearly have a lot of faith in Drake, but his time just isn't right now. That's not to say he won't be on the postseason roster, but this was a roster manipulation move to make sure everything is squared away for the final month of the season.
Remember, Drake has now allowed 15 earned runs in 20.2 innings of work, and five of the 24 hits he's allowed have been home runs. There's still a ton of room for him to grow, and that's to be expected out of a rookie.
