The Diamondbacks selected Drake's (shoulder) contract from Triple-A Reno on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old southpaw was part of the return Arizona received from the Rangers for Merrill Kelly. Drake wasn't quite able to get comfortable with his new organization, however, allowing 17 earned runs over 16.2 innings across four starts before suffering a season-ending shoulder strain in late August. His addition to the 40-man roster will prevent another team from picking him up during the Rule 5 Draft in December, but the D-backs will likely need to see more from Drake before allowing him to make his big-league debut.
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Diamondbacks' Kohl Drake: Lands on IL
Rotowire
Drake was placed on the 7-day injured list Tuesday with a shoulder strain, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.
Drake made four appearances for Triple-A Reno after being acquired from the Rangers in the Merrill Kelly swap. The Diamondbacks had put him on the development list after those four outings for workload reasons, but a sprain was discovered in his shoulder that will end his 2025 season prematurely. The injury is not expected to affect the left-hander's offseason preparation. In four games for the Aces, Drake had a 9.18 ERA with 19 strikeouts and eight walks over 16.2 innings.
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Diamondbacks' Kohl Drake: Shipped to Snakes
Rotowire
The Diamondbacks acquired Drake, left-hander Mitch Bratt and right-hander David Hagaman from the Rangers on Thursday in exchange for right-hander Merrill Kelly, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.
Drake and Bratt are both high-quality pitching prospects, with Drake recently getting promoted to Triple-A Round Rock after logging a 2.44 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 70 strikeouts in 55.1 innings at Double-A Frisco. He has predictably been less successful thus far in the Pacific Coast League, where he has a 5.19 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 17 strikeouts in 17.1 innings through four appearances. Drake could be a factor in Arizona's rotation in 2026.
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Rangers' Kohl Drake: Promoted to Triple-A
Rotowire
Drake's next start will come with Triple-A Round Rock, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reported Saturday.
Drake is one of the top pitching prospects in the Rangers organization, and he's accumulated a 2.44 ERA and a 70:22 K:BB in 12 starts with Double-A Frisco this season. The 24-year-old was an 11th-round pick in the 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft.
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Rangers' Kohl Drake: Fires five scoreless frames
Rotowire
Drake (back) registered six strikeouts and one walk across five scoreless innings Wednesday against Double-A Amarillo.
Drake got off to a slow start in spring camp due to a stiff back, but he's managed to recover and posted his best start of the 2025 campaign Wednesday. The 24-year-old fared well at Double-A a season ago, cruising to a 3.10 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with a 20:11 K:BB across 20.1 innings.
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Rangers' Kohl Drake: Nursing back problem
Rotowire
The Rangers paused Drake's throwing program Thursday while he manages a stiff back, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.
The injury seems to be of the day-to-day variety, but Drake's prognosis could change if he fails to respond well to rest in the coming days. The 24-year-old is coming off a breakout 2024 campaign in which he posted a 2.29 ERA and 148:31 K:BB across 106 innings covering three levels. If healthy, Drake will likely begin the 2025 season either at Double-A Frisco or Triple-A Round Rock.
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