Paul Sewald's post-Mariners career finds a new rock bottom with Diamondbacks demotion

Paul Sewald hasn't been on the Mariners in three years, but he was a critical piece of the 2022 roster that finally ended the franchise's playoff drought. It wasn't easy to see him traded to the Diamondbacks at the 2023 trade deadline and it was even tougher to see him go all the way to the World Series with his new squad just a few months later.

Despite initial success with Arizona, Sewald's past three seasons have been rocky. Since 2024, he has pitched for three different teams, posting a 4.73 ERA and 4.66 FIP over 97 innings. This year has been particularly rough and the Diamondbacks' recent move could signal the beginning of the end for the Mariners' ex-closer.

Paul Sewald has been removed from the Diamondbacks' closer role

Arizona recently made the unsurprising decision to take Sewald out of high-leverage situations. The team is narrowly holding onto a Wild Card spot and FanGraphs gives them a 46.4% chance of actually making it through to postseason. Their place in the standings positions them as buyers at the deadline and if they want to secure their spot in October, they won't be able to do it with Sewald.

At 36 years old, regression is expected. He never threw particularly hard, sitting in the low-90s on his fastball for his entire career but in his prime, he got by thanks to his exceptional vertical approach angle. Over the past few years, his fastball has gotten slower and flatter and opposing hitters have continued to do significant damage. Somehow, he has managed to accumulate 24 saves this year (sixth in MLB), but his outings have become too risky for a team with playoff aspirations.

In his absence, the team will likely depend on several arms to pitch in the ninth inning. One such arm is Brandyn Garcia who was traded to Arizona in the deal that initially brought Josh Naylor to Seattle. He has been exceptional so far this season, pitching to a 2.17 ERA with a 1.73 FIP and recently earned his second save.

For the Mariners, trading away Sewald in 2023 has continued to pay dividends in the form of Dominic Canzone, who is almost single-handedly keeping the lineup afloat. In retrospect, it was a rare move that managed to benefit both parties involved but it has been years since Sewald has been able to be a serviceable closer. This may not be his last year in the majors, but it's almost certainly his last year pitching in the ninth inning.

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