Paul

Sewald

Sewald was designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks, and it’s not surprising to see a team put in a claim, even with his struggles over the past month-plus. He’ll likely be a mid-to-late inning option while with Toronto.

The 36-year-old Sewald was great for Arizona early in the season, recording 18 saves, a 30 percent strikeout rate, and a 3.18 ERA in 28 1/3 innings until June 19th. He did begin to struggle, and from Jun 19th until he lost his closer’s job on July 24th, he posted a 9.00 ERA in nine innings but also still recorded six saves. Yet, even when moving to lower-leverage innings, Sewald continued to give up runs, and so the Diamondbacks decided to move on. He will leave the team with the 6th most saves in team history with 53.

Manager Torey Lovullo said postgame that Paul Sewald is out of the closer role for now. He leads the team with 24 saves but has struggled mightily lately. The lefty Garcia was called on to pitch for the third time in four days, though Arizona’s bullpen has been taxed recently. Lovullo didn’t name Garcia the closer, instead saying it would be a committee going forward. Juan Morillo, Kevin Ginkel, and Jonathan Loáisiga are all options to earn ninth-inning chances as the bullpen evolves over the coming weeks.

Sewald will pitch in lower-leverage situations in the short-term while the Diamondbacks use a closer by committee. Brandyn Garcia got the save on Wednesday, but Lovullo also mentioned that it could be Juan Morillo, Jonathan Loaisiga, or Kevin Ginkel in future save opportunities. Our best guess would be some sort of committee with Garcia and Morillo at the heart of it. Of course, Justin Martinez could come back at some point in August and join the fold.

Sewald retired just one batter before being replaced in a tie game. He’s still an impressive 24-for-27 in converting save chances, but his ERA is up to 5.26 with his 11 homers surrendered in 37 2/3 innings. Things don’t figure to get much better there, but the D-backs might as well allow him to keep closing for now. It’s not as if he’s likely to be useful in any other role.

Sewald needed just nine pitches to get through this one. He used four straight fastballs to retire Jorbit Vivas to begin the inning and got Luis García to fly out in just one pitch on the following at-bat. A ground out by Keibert Ruiz would end the game for the Diamondbacks, who picked up their fourth-straight win and have now won 10 of their last 12 games. Sewald’s strong outing was an encouraging sign after he had allowed three earned runs in his previous two games combined.

Sewald was called on to close out the game with a two-run lead over the A’s in the ninth inning. He recorded two quick outs, then gave up a hit to put a runner on for Jacob Wilson, who took Sewald deep for a two-run blast to tie the game. It was the second blown save of the season for the 36-year-old right-hander. He’s converted 23 with a 4.95 ERA over 36 1/3 innings.

Sewald’s save was his 23rd of the season. He allowed a solo home run to Jimmy Crooks, but also recorded two strikeouts. Sewald has a 4.58 ERA, but has only blown one save opportunity all year. Fantasy managers can’t really complain about Sewald’s production so far.

The rally started because Sewald couldn’t handle a little grounder right back to him, resulting a single. He went on to walk a batter, give up another single and surrender a go-ahead sac fly before being lifted. The hook came after only 17 pitches, so he should be available to close Saturday if a save situation arises. He fell to 2-5 tonight, but he’s still 22-for-23 in his save chances.

Even with his 4.24 ERA, Sewald has saved the Diamondbacks’ bacon by going 22-for-23 in save chances this year. The team will likely be a buyer at the deadline, but it’s highly unlikely that it’ll be targeting a closer upgrade. Starting pitching, on the other hand, seems like a big need.