Paul Sewald out of Diamondbacks closer role, Torey Lovullo says

Diamondbacks reliever Paul Sewald will step out of the closer’s role amid a run of struggles that have popped up over the past month, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters Friday.

Lovullo added he hasn’t decided on a single replacement for Sewald and it could be matchup-based.

The manager said Wednesday after Sewald walked three and gave up two earned runs that he would take a deeper dive into a “delivery issue” for Sewald.

“It’s not allowing him to throw the ball where he wants to, have the finish on the ball and make the pitches that he’s normally making,” Lovullo told reporters after that 5-4 win.

“That right now is my top priority … I have a lot to think about over the next several hours, and I will, but I want to make sure we dig into finding what’s happening with him, because he’s not hitting his spots. I know everybody wants to know, ‘What’s the closer situation? Are you going to dump him out of the closer role?’ That’s not my priority with Paul right now. My priority is to find out if he’s getting blocked by some sort of a delivery problem. That’s our job.”

Lovullo taking pressure situations off Sewald is part of fixing that problem.

Paul Sewald’s struggles as Diamondbacks closer in 2024

Sewald had blown a save on his last appearance before the struggles on Wednesday.

During a loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, he went a full frame but allowed two doubles that turned a 2-1 Arizona lead into a tie game. Arizona lost, 6-5, in extras.

Sewald had posted five saves in seven appearances before that game against the Pirates.

That stretch seemed to have righted Sewald after three consecutive blown saves at the start of July put his role into question. Lovullo had stood behind the closer through that stretch.

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