The Blue Jays have added another arm to a pitching staff that badly needs one, claiming veteran reliever Paul Sewald off waivers from the Diamondbacks, according to Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. Arizona had designated Sewald for assignment earlier in the week.
Toronto is taking on the rest of Sewald’s $1.5 million salary, a figure that sits at about $377,000 at the moment. He walks into a bullpen that’s been hit hard by injuries, with nine pitchers currently on the injured list.
Sewald’s second stint in Arizona had a little bit of everything. He returned on a one-year, $1.5MM deal after an injury-riddled 2025 season and opened this year looking like a perfect fit. By mid-June, he had racked up 18 saves, posted a 3.18 ERA, and paired that with a 29.9% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate.
But the warning signs were there. Sewald was allowing plenty of hard contact and getting only 13.8% of his balls in play on the ground.
A tiny .131 average on balls in play helped keep the damage down for a while, masking the home runs that were starting to creep in. Once that luck faded, the blowups came fast: 17 earned runs, fueled by seven homers, over his final 10 2/3 innings before the Diamondbacks cut him loose.
This is still a pitcher with a real track record. Sewald was excellent in Seattle and Arizona from 2021-23, logging 189 1/3 innings with a 2.89 ERA, 65 saves, 24 holds, and strong strikeout and walk numbers.
Injuries have dragged him down over the last two seasons, pushing his ERA to 4.40 across 59 1/3 innings in 2024-25. This season has been a roller coaster, and now the Blue Jays are betting they can get the better version.
He won’t be asked to handle the ninth inning in Toronto. That job belongs to bullpen ace Louis Varland. Instead, Sewald is expected to slot into a setup mix that includes Tyler Rogers, with Braydon Fisher and Mason Fluharty also getting help there since the deadline deal that sent Jeff Hoffman to Minnesota.
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