Diamondbacks RHP Silvino Bracho to undergo Tommy John surgery

Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Silvino Bracho will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair his right UCL, the team announced Wednesday.

Bracho was pulled from his Sunday spring appearance after experiencing discomfort in his elbow. He underwent an MRI on Monday and received a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews.

Bracho, 26, had a 3.19 ERA in 31 innings with Arizona in 2018 and was competing for a spot in the bullpen this spring. The fifth-year pro had a 10.13 ERA in three appearances this spring.

“Silvino took a big step forward last year for us,” D-backs assistant GM Jared Porter told Doug & Wolf on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station. “He showed the ability to come up in the major leagues and get more swings and misses, throw more consistent strikes and give up less damage like he’d done at times in the past.”

D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said Monday that Bracho had not experienced pain before his final outing.

The Diamondbacks bullpen could include Archie Bradley, Yoshi Hirano and Greg Holland, who are among the three favorites to earn high-pressure roles. Left-handers Andrew Chafin and T.J. McFarland are also expected to make the roster with solid resumes.

Matt Andriese, Jimmie Sherfy, Yoan Lopez, Joey Krehbiel, and Rule 5 pick Nick Green are among the players who could take advantage of the opportunity to fill in with Bracho done for the 2019 season.

“It hurts,” Porter said of Bracho’s injury. “You never want to lose a piece of your group, someone that was kind of likely going to be on the team. With that being said, we feel great about our bullpen depth.”

Follow @AZSports