Diamondbacks to sign former trade deadline pickup from Mariners to $1.5 million contract
The Arizona Diamondbacks are in one of the toughest divisions in all of Major League Baseball, as they have to go up against the Los Angeles Dodgers and a San Diego Padres team that has the best bullpen in all of Major League Baseball.
While it’s a challenging division, the Diamondbacks have some incredible players of their own and have the talent to compete for a Wild Card spot, if nothing else.
To continue building up their roster, the Diamondbacks aren’t done adding, even though the spring is finally underway. According to Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic, the Diamondbacks are in agreement on a $1.5 million deal with reliever Paul Sewald.
Diamondbacks to sign $1.5M contract with Paul Sewald
The Diamondbacks are bringing back Paul Sewald on a one-year, $1.5M deal. Pending a physical,” Piecoro reports.
Sewald is a 35-year-old veteran who’s been in the Major Leagues since the 2017 season. He began his MLB career with the New York Mets and then joined the Seattle Mariners.
He spent 2.5 seasons in Seattle before being traded to the Diamondbacks partway through the 2023 season. He posted a 3.57 ERA in 20 appearances for the Diamondbacks that season, and in the postseason, he had a 5.40 ERA in 10 games.
Sewald returned for one more season, posting a 4.32 ERA in 42 games before eventually leaving in 2025 for the Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers.
Last year, across 22 appearances for the Tigers and Guardians, Sewald posted a 4.58 ERA with -0.1 bWAR.
Coming into the 2026 season, Sewald likely won’t be able to reach the heights of his Mariners days, when he had a 2.88 ERA in 172 games.
But it’s a cheap deal, only $1.5 million, to bring Sewald back. Adding a veteran reliever like Sewald on a cheap deal like this is a worthwhile addition. Even if he struggles, it’s a low-risk move for Arizona, and one they can easily pivot from if it goes south.
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