Why Diamondbacks Made 'Agonizing' Decision to DFA Closer Paul Sewald

Earlier Monday, the Arizona Diamondbacks had to make a tough decision.

Arizona opted to designate former closer Paul Sewald for assignment — a move that might have been somewhat expected.

Sewald converted 24 of 27 saves for the Diamondbacks, but was removed from that role after a pair of blown saves stemming from an obvious stretch of poor pitching. He has a 6.23 ERA on the year.

Ahead of the Diamondbacks' game one matchup with the Colorado Rockies, manager Torey Lovullo spoke on the decision to part ways with Sewald, who was both an instrumental arm and key member of Arizona's clubhouse.

Why Diamondbacks DFA'd Paul Sewald

Aug 4, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Paul Sewald reacts in the seventh inning against the San Diego Padres at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Lovullo was clear: this was not an easy decision to make, regardless of a rough ERA and recent decline.

"It was a brutal decision," Lovullo said. "He's meant so much to this organization. He's closed out 24 games. He solidified things for our 2023 run. He had a number of saves in 2024 before he got banged up.

"You learn to appreciate the human being at a certain point. He's just such a great competitor and was having so much success. And on top of that, he's a friend of all of us. He's just a good person. He's a great husband. He's a great father. He stands for all the things that we believe in here as an Arizona Diamondback. So to say goodbye to him was not easy. It was agonizing."

Unfortunately, the reasons for the DFA were too strong. Lovullo touched on the thought process behind the decision.

First and foremost, Sewald had been demoted to low leverage, where he was blown up for five runs without recording an out in his first appearance. Oddly enough, Sewald has had much more success when used as a back-end arm than a middle-inning reliever.

Aug 4, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Paul Sewald against the San Diego Padres at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"The reasons that were stated in my office yesterday were things such as the role that you're currently in is not going to be an area of your strength. It's not something that you've done a lot. You're usually a very back-end guy," Lovullo said.

The manager noted the emergence of some of Arizona's other leverage arms. The closer-by-committee options have simply taken over the job in which Sewald was once entrenched.

"We're going in a different direction because guys are looked at in a little bit different way, such as Brandyn Garcia and Kevin Ginkel and [Jonathan] Loaisiga and [Juan] Morillo. I think they soaked up the spot that Paul was in, and that's just the nature of the game."

Lovullo also mentioned the need for some more length in the bullpen. Sewald, serving a middle-inning, low-leverage role is not a multi-inning reliever, and the recent signing of Zack Littell will be able to provide that type of length.

But Sewald, despite a 4.95 ERA over his tenure in Arizona, should still be remembered for his positive contributions.

"He understood [the decision]. I think it was painful for him. We said our goodbyes, but more like we'll see you later. That's the mindset. I just feel like the role he was in, we need a little bit more length," Lovullo said.

"What we all remember is what he's done for this ball club and what he's done for this organization."

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