Former Seattle Mariners Closer Paul Sewald Signs With Cleveland Guardians
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Outside of the infield, the Seattle Mariners biggest need going into the offseason was the bullpen.
The Mariners relievers were ravaged with injuries and inconsistencies in 2024, leaving a lot of close games and save opportunities on the table.
This led to a lot of fans and media speculating that Seattle could potentially reunite with former closer Paul Sewald. But any hopes of the Mariners bringing him back were squashed on Jan. 22 after news broke that the former New York Mets draft pick signed with the Cleveland Guardians.
Per a report from Zack Meisel of the Athletic, the deal is for one-year with a base salary of $5 million. The deal is worth a guaranteed $7 million including a $1 million signing bonus and a $1 million buyout for a mutual option in 2026. That option is worth $10 million. Sewald will earn an extra $100,000 for 45, 50, 55 and 60 appearances, respectively.
The Guardians' deal with Paul Sewald, per source:
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) January 22, 2025
Guaranteed one year, $7M
$1M signing bonus, $5M salary
$1M buyout or $10M salary for 2026
He'll earn an extra $100k for 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 appearances in 2025.
Sewald pitched for the Mariners for the better part of three seasons from 2021-23. He had a 2.88 ERA with 236 strikeouts in 171.2 innings pitched across 172 outings. He was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in return for Josh Rojas, Dominic Canzone and Ryan Bliss on July 31, 2023.
Paul Sewald "rocking the baby" at Josh Naylor after getting him out to end the game pic.twitter.com/DoW7Qstfdk
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 9, 2023
Despite Seattle's bullpen struggles in 2024, there's reason to believe the floor and ceiling of the group will be better in 2025.
Matt Brash is expected to return earlier than expected from Tommy John surgery that kept him out for all of 2024 and Gregory Santos is assumed to be healthy after missing most of last year with his own variety of ailments. Prospects like left-handed pitcher Brandyn Garcia and right-handed reliever Hunter Cranton are also expected to get a look in Spring Training.
But Sewald would have elevated the Mariners bullpen. And now, any route to contention will likely have to go through Sewald and the defending American League Central champions the Guardians.
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