Dbacks Call Up Schugel and Bracho, Demote Chafin

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It is NOT easy like Sunday morning. The Dbacks continue their flurry of moves, this time with a couple more promotions and a rather puzzling demotion. The Diamondbacks have selected the contract of Silvino Bracho from Double-A Mobile and have recalled A.J. Schugel from Triple-A Reno. Andrew Chafin was optioned to Triple-A Reno. The trade of Addison Reed to the Mets helped accommodate these moves.

Chafin has been dominant in his rookie campaign. Although a starter throughout his career, the 25-year old southpaw has come out of the bullpen exclusively. Chafin is 5-1 with a 2.41 ERA in 67.1 innings. He’s even collected a couple of saves this season. His demotion comes as a shock, until you notice that the Dbacks are desperate for bullpen arms and Chafin has pitched in the last two games. He should return to the Dbacks in a couple of days, when September begins.

Schugel was actually with the Dbacks in the middle of April, for a cup of coffee and his MLB debut. On April 12th, Schugel made his only appearance in the MLB, against the Los Angeles Dodgers. he pitched three innings, surrendered five hits and a couple of runs. Schugel was then optioned to Triple-A Reno. However, Schugel has actually played the majority of his season in Double-A Mobile.

With the BayBears, Schugel was pretty dominant. In 12 starts, he was 7-2 with a 2.21 ERA, while striking out 51 hitters. The story changes drastically once you talk about his time the Aces. In 9 starts with Reno, he was 2-7 with a 10.18 ERA. Schugel, being a member of the 40-man roster, was a definite candidate for promotion come September. However, he’ll have a two-day head start with the club.

Bracho, not unlike Zack Godley, is a relative unknown. What is known is that he’s been lights out in 2015 with stints in Mobile and Visalia. After only six appearances with Visalia (six scoreless innings, three saves, one hit, 14 strikeouts) it was obvious he was overpowering competition. As a closer for the BayBears, Brancho is 2-1 with a 1.81 ERA and has notched 16 saves. He’s also struck out 59 hitters in 44.2 innings in Double-A. Brancho, with his strikeout stuff, is an ideal candidate to replace Reed in the bullpen.

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