Diamondbacks’ Closer Paul Sewald Nears Return from Injury

After the Diamondbacks swept the Dodgers in the NLDS last October, Joe Mantiply credited closer Paul Sewald for bringing stability to the Diamondbacks’ bullpen. Mantiply asserted, “When you have that stability in the back end of your bullpen, it really takes the pressure off the rest of us.”

At that time, the D-backs’ bullpen had allowed just four earned runs across 20 innings of work to start their run to the World Series.

However, the team has been without Sewald, a crucial trade deadline acquisition in 2023, for the entire start of this season due to an oblique strain he suffered during Spring Training. This injury forced him to start the year on the 15-day injured list.

In his absence, the Arizona bullpen has struggled somewhat, posting a 3.99 ERA, which ranks them 16th in MLB. They have also recorded only four saves, the fifth lowest in the league.

On a positive note, Paul Sewald is slated to begin his rehab assignment with the Triple-A Reno Aces this Tuesday. During spring training, he delivered six shutout innings.

Sewald joined the Diamondbacks in a trade from the Seattle Mariners on July 23 last year, in exchange for Ryan Bliss, Josh Rojas, and Dominic Canzone. Immediately taking on the role of Arizona’s key reliever, he pitched 17.2 innings over 20 regular season games, achieving a 3.57 ERA.

The Las Vegas native quickly became one of the D-backs’ most crucial players, helping them reach the 2023 World Series.

Discussing his injury before the season, Sewald expressed his hope that, once he returns, it will be the last time he will have to deal with it. He was grateful that the injury occurred early in the season rather than during the critical final stretch.

“To miss Opening day is going to be disappointing. But, you know, it’s better than maybe in the middle of the season or September…My goal is, whenever I do come back, this will be in the past and we won’t worry about.”

Remarkably, it is Sewald’s first stint on the injured list in his seven-year major league career.

Stay tuned for further updates.