Arizona Diamondbacks 2024 Player Review: Paul Sewald

The D-backs' closer hit a wall in 2024, and the ripple effect spelled instability for Arizona's bullpen.

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Paul Sewald (38) throws to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the ninth inning at Chase Field on Sept. 2, 2024, in Phoenix. / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

This article is part of a series chronicling the individual seasons of players who appeared for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2024.

Reviews for players who still have rookie eligibility for 2025 will appear in our prospect season reviews. Players are presented in the reverse order of their aWAR, an average of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs WAR.

RHP Paul Sewald

2024 Contract status: Arbitration Avoided, one year, $7,350,000

Paul Sewald 2024 and career statistics / Alex D'Agostino | Diamondbacks On SI

Right-handed reliever Paul Sewald came over to Arizona from the Seattle Mariners at the 2023 Trade Deadline, in a move that changed the course of 2023. The right-handed reliever immediately took over the Diamondbacks' vacant closer role, and brought much-needed stability to an inconsistent bullpen, en route to a magical World Series run.

Sewald was excellent in the closer role last season, going 13-for-15 in saves in the regular season, and 6-for-7 in the 2023 postseason, though his blown save was a back-breaker in game one of the World Series.

But as a whole, it looked like Arizona had a closer, a veteran bullpen leader and good person in the 33-year-old Sewald. But his 2024 was a tumultuous ride.

His season didn't begin until May 7, as he was sidelined by a stint on the 15-day Injured List with an oblique strain on March 28 (retroactive to March 25). That led to a few blown saves by other D-backs relievers, as the club looked for temporary ninth-inning solution.

But upon his return, the then-rightful closer was brilliant, converting his first 11 saves without issue, and allowing only a single earned run (a solo homer in his debut) in his first 18 appearances.

On July 1, his WHIP was a stellar 0.48, and opponents were hitting just .093 against him.

It was to be expected, with such incredible early numbers, that there would be some regression. Therefore, it was of little shock when the righty hit some turbulence.

Facing the NL-West juggernaut Los Angeles Dodgers, and their deadly top-order trio, Sewald blew his first save on July 2, getting two outs, but surrendering three hits and two runs in walk-ff fashion.

That's more or less to be expected in LA, but three days later, Arizona rallied from an incredible 7-2 deficit, taking an 8-7 lead in the ninth inning, behind six ninth-inning runs and a grand slam from outfielder Alek Thomas.

Sewald immediately broke down, allowing three runs and a pair of homers without recording an out, as the D-backs were walked off by a potent offense once more.

But the concerns grew much heavier when he blew a third straight. This time against the Atlanta Braves at home, Sewald gave up a two-out, two run homer from Sean Murphy, tying the game at three apiece and leading to an eventual loss.

Sewald's once-sparkling ERA rose to 3.93, nothing terrible, but a balloon nonetheless.

Still, manager Torey Lovullo stuck with his closer. A three-game blown save streak is concerning, but could be chalked up to a severe slump. From July 10 through July 26, Sewald locked down all five of his save opportunities.

But the saves looked increasingly uncomfortable. The outs became louder and deeper, and Sewald's confidence appeared understandably shaken. The reliable closer he had been was gone.

On July 28, he gave up another game-tying hit in a save situation against the Pirates - his fourth blown save of the month, holding Arizona back from a three-game sweep.

But his season came to a head three days later. Again facing a sweep-clinching save situation, this time against the exceptionally weak Washington Nationals, the veteran's control looked - as it had all month - completely off.

Leading by three, the closer walked three batters and surrendered an RBI hit. He was only able to record one out on 24 pitches. Not to be bitten again, Lovullo pulled Sewald from the game, and righty Ryan Thompson finished the save.

It wouldn't go down as a blown save, but it effectively put the nail in the coffin of Sewald's closer job, as two days later it was announced he would be removed from the ninth-inning role.

It was certainly hoped that Sewald could return to form after a stint in low leverage, and return to the ninth inning eventually. In his first six appearances following the decision, he allowed no earned runs, three hits and three walks.

But to close out August, he allowed seven hits and five runs over three appearances, nearly blowing two non-save ninth-inning leads in Miami and Boston.

The veteran never found his way back to high leverage. He finished with a 4.31 ERA, though he did suffer from a bit of bad luck, with his 3.95 FIP signaling some disparity.

With Sewald ruled out of the closer's job, Arizona's bullpen fell into a bit of instability, with contributions from Justin Martinez, Ryan Thompson, A.J. Puk and others, but it never looked quite as effective as the 1-2-3 punch of Thompson, Kevin Ginkel and Sewald from the 2023 season.

It was a perfect storm of issues for the righty. His velocity took a hit, with his already-low 92-93 MPH fastball dropping to around the 90-91 MPH range. His sweeper's horizontal break (sweeping action) dropped a full inch from 2023, and his control saw him spray it around the zone (or leave it dead over the heart).

On top of all of that, his confidence might have suffered the most, with plenty of bad luck piling on top of poor execution. It all added up to a disappointing season from one of the most anticipated members of Arizona's bullpen.

Certainly, there's more talent in this D-backs bullpen than there was last season, but Sewald's steady anchor and veteran leadership was a noticeable hole on the staff.

2025 Outlook

2025 Contract status: Free Agent

Sewald will be a Free Agent heading into 20225. Coming off such a down season, it might be more difficult for him to find any amount of a long-term deal somewhere. If he had pitched as well as he had in 2023, it might have been a no-brainer to at least attempt to re-sign him, but that seems somewhat unlikely at this point.

The D-backs' bullpen is going in a younger, more electric direction. With Martinez and Puk under control for quite some time to take over high leverage, Thompson and Ginkel still contributing, and an entirely new staff to coach Arizona's pitchers, Sewald likely won't be a priority to retain, unless he takes a cheap deal to return as middle relief depth.

There is always a possibility he returns to Arizona, and the organization would certainly love to have him as a person and leader in their clubhouse. That said, the decision to let him walk might not be all that tough after such a rough 2024, and him entering his age-35 season.