A report from Todd Rosiak of the Journal Sentinel details how shortstop Luis Sardinas will be called up from the minor leagues to replace Jean Segura, who was placed on the 15-day DL with a finger injury.
Obviously yet another injury to a starting player is bad news for the Brewers, who just can’t seem to keep their projected starters on the field, among other issues holding the team back. But this glimpse of Sardinas will be instructive for Doug Melvin, Craig Counsell, scouts and fans.
Sardinas will be the first of the trio from the Yovani Gallardo trade to see time in the majors with Milwaukee. That trade with Texas in January saw Sardinas, reliever Corey Knebel and pitching prospect Marcos Diplan headed to the Brewers.
Knebel has pitched 13 innings with a bloated ERA for AAA Colorado Springs and Diplan apparently hasn’t pitched yet this year. Sardinas, meanwhile, is only 21 years of age. He’s batting .288 with 18 RBI and six stolen bases for the Sky Sox in 132 at-bats.
The DL stint for Segura won’t hurt his trade value too much. It’s been reported that the Brewers don’t really want to trade the 25-year-old Segura anyway, and that might be smart. He’s not making anything money-wise in the majors now and won’t be a free agent until 2019. For a club that has had its issues at the shortstop position (think Yuni), moving depth there may be ill-advised.
As annoying as injuries are, it will be neat to see what Sardinas can do. He was ineffective at the plate and looked a bit raw in the infield in spring training, but maybe he can get on a roll or at least display what he can do in the field.
It’s unclear if Sardinas will be able to hit well enough to be a regular in the majors, but it’s nice to get a look at him so early this year, even though the reason is yet another injury to the starting core.
Hector Gomez has been fun to watch this season, but a glimpse of Sardinas will be a nice treat as we get to make our first over-reactions on the anchor piece of the Gallardo trade. Surely we’ll be able to decide in a small sample whether Doug Melvin made the right choice back in January.
It’s doubtful Sardinas will stick with the Brewers for long unless Segura is out for an extended period or unexpectedly traded. With these Brewers, however, it’s best to bet on the unknown. Sardinas himself could be traded this year, which is another reason it’s great to see him at the major league level already, starting Friday against the Mets.
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