Arizona Diamondbacks trade for Mariners reliever Paul Sewald
Jul 31, 2023, 2:33 PM | Updated: 4:33 pm
Relief pitcher Paul Sewald #37 of the Seattle Mariners pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the MLB game at Chase Field on July 28, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The Arizona Diamondbacks have traded for Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Paul Sewald, the team announced Monday.
Azcentral’s Nick Piecoro and ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the trade.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported the package for Sewald is infielder Josh Rojas, outfielder/first baseman Dominic Canzone and infield prospect Ryan Bliss.
Sewald, a seven-year veteran, is a right-handed reliever that has 21 saves after racking up 20 the year prior in Seattle. Across two-and-a-half seasons with the Mariners, Sewald has had an excellent 2.88 ERA and 0.926 WHIP in 171.2 innings. He has two more years of control left on his contract and could become a free agent after the 2024 season.
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Arizona has been in dire need for upgrades in the bullpen ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline, especially on the back-end, where the D-backs have been once again employing a closer-by-committee strategy, picking the ninth inning arm based on matchups. The D-backs’ bullpen is last in ERA for the month of July.
Rojas, 29, originally came to the D-backs in the 2019 dealing of Zack Greinke to the Houston Astros. He has been a prominent fixture at third base the last two seasons and also played in 139 games in 2021 at shortstop, second base, right field and left field. This year, Rojas has struggled, posting an OPS of .589 in 59 games. He spent part of the season in Triple-A before recently getting called back up.
Canzone, Arizona’s 19th-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, made his MLB debut on July 8. After going through a rough patch to begin his career in the big leagues, Canzone had three multi-hit games in his last four contests. The 25-year-old is batting .237.
Bliss is placed 29th by MLB Pipeline after getting selected 42nd overall by the D-backs in the 2021 MLB Draft. After starting this season with his first stint at the Double-A level, Bliss made the jump to the Triple-A Reno Aces in mid-July. For both ball clubs in 2023, Bliss has posted a batting average of .332 in 81 games, along with an OPS of .947.
Arizona, positioned to be amongst the most competitive buyers on the trade market coming into the month, is 7-16 in July entering play on Monday and is now a game back of the last NL Wild Card spot.
In addition to the trade, the D-backs recalled outfielder Kyle Lewis and infielder Diego Castillo.
