Paul Sewald Excelled as D-backs Closer in 2023
This article is part of a series of player reviews for the 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks. It was a surprising and marvelous year for the team as they won 84 games to make the postseason. They advanced to Game Five of the World Series before bowing out to the Texas Rangers. There are 54 players in all that had at least one at-bat or pitched at least one inning for the team this past season. They are being presented in reverse order of their aWAR (average WAR-Wins Above Replacement) produced, which is the average of Baseball Reference and Fangraphs WAR. These are their season stories.
Paul Sewald's stats for 2023 and his career
Jake Oliver
The Arizona Diamondbacks knew they needed a closer if they wanted to win and go anywhere in the 2023 regular or post-season. Closers aren't cheap to acquire, especially at the trade deadline, but General Manager went out and acquired Paul Sewald from the Seattle Mariners. It cost a lot, a top-30 prospect in Ryan Bliss plus young outfielder Dominic Canzone and long-time fan favorite Josh Rojas. However, one can safely say that without Sewald, the D-backs' bullpen never became the strength of the team's pitching or as dominant as it did become.
That started with Sewald stabilizing the bullpen. He locked down the ninth inning which pushed all the other pitchers down to a lower inning, enabling them to work at their best. Instead of having to pitch in an inning or situation that they are unable to do well in.
Sewald had a rocky start to his tenure with the D-backs. While his first outing in a 12-1 blowout by the Twins' hands allowed Sewald to strike out all three batters in an inning. His second inning created PTSD situations for D-backs fans as he gave up a walk-off three-run home run that gave the Twins the lead. It also enabled the D-backs losing streak to continue on its run to nine straight games.
However, from that point on, Sewald was nails. Despite an ugly walk-rate, 5.1/9, and FIP, 5.07, he was able to navigate the later innings and saves with aplomb. From August 12th to September 27th, over his 18 games, the D-backs went 17-1. Sewald pitched 16.2 innings and blew just one save to 13 completed saves. He struck out 17 and gave up just five runs, albeit it could have been far more thanks to his nine walks. Still, Sewald had a 2.16 ERA and 3.80 FIP during this time. It was clear that the Diamondbacks had found their closer, the missing piece that allowed the team to be the best it could be. At least in terms of the bullpen.
Sewald's hot streak carried into the playoffs. Over his first eight games that spanned the team's miracle run through the NLCS, Sewald was unhittable. Over eight innings, he had just three hits, one walk, and no runs given up with 11 strikeouts. His ERA was a perfect 0.00 with a 1.63 FIP.
However, unfortunately for the Diamondbacks and Sewald, his perfection came unglued in the World Series. Sewald blew the Game One save against the Rangers for his first blown save in over a month. He gave up the game-tying two-run home run to Corey Seager while walking two. Then, in the Rangers' series-winning Game Five, Sewald gave up four runs and five hits in the 9th inning to put the Rangers on top for good.
Still, without Paul Sewald on the roster, the Arizona Diamondbacks likely won't go 17-1 over the final 18 games that Sewald appeared in over the last month and a half of the regular season. Nor do the Snakes get to the World Series without Sewald's six saves. Plus, it's no guarantee that Arizona wouldn't have been forced to keep pitching relievers in the wrong situation that they can't handle as well. That's why Sewald being the Diamondbacks' closer was so important to the team's success.
2024 Status and Outlook
Sewald is entering his age-34 season and final year of club control. He will be a free agent ahead of the 2025 season, when he turns 35. Depending on how Sewald does this year as the team's full-time closer, he could get re-signed on a relatively low contract thanks to his age. Most teams won't pay top dollar for a closer that is already in his mid-thirties. However, if Sewald has a season similar to his playoffs run, then he could very well get paid handsomely. In that case, he likely leaves the Arizona desert. In this case, the Diamondbacks would be forced to find another closer before the 2025 season. Regardless, one thing is certain. Paul Sewald is the 2024 closer for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
