Diamondbacks to navigate “fluid” closer situation; What is Paul Sewald’s new role?

Ryan Thompson received the first nod to close a game after Paul Sewald’s removal from the closer role on Friday, and although it wasn’t perfect, Thompson recorded his second straight save.

Thompson has been the D-backs’ eighth inning man setting up Sewald all season, and he came to the rescue on Wednesday with the bases loaded and one out to salvage a sweep of the Nationals. That game was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Sewald at this time.

But manager Torey Lovullo is not naming a closer in Sewald’s stead, as the club works with the veteran to solve what Lovullo described as delivery issues.

Thompson is the natural fit to step up, but this is going to be a fluid situation.

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“It’s going to depend on the particular matchups,” Lovullo told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo on Friday. “If it’s left, right, left, certainly A.J. Puk would get very strong consideration. It was right, left, right, Ryan Thompson would get very strong consideration, as would Kevin Ginkel.

“I have a lot of information in front of me, I have personal matchups, I have projected matchups. … I start watching the game very closely about approaches. Who’s catching up to the gas, who’s not, who’s staying on the baseball, who’s got good balance in their swing and who doesn’t? Those little things will be factors as to what I will do in the ninth inning.”

The candidates are Thompson, the recently-acquired Puk, Ginkel, Justin Martinez, trade addition Dylan Floro and left-hander Joe Mantiply, with Slade Cecconi and Humberto Castellanos able to go multiple innings in the bullpen.

The Diamondbacks had to use its A team of relievers to hold onto Friday’s 9-8 win over the Pirates, although Puk and Floro only threw nine pitches each. Thompson threw 20, and Friday was the first leg in 13 games played in as many days.

Lovullo likes to build games backward from the ninth inning, so this will be a bit different without penciling Sewald everyday. The D-backs had shaky results in the first half of last season without a designated closer.

“I want to establish roles, but for right now, it’s going to be fluid,” Lovullo said. “Things emerge, things start to develop and players are special. They go out and they take care of their business, and they start to define their roles by performance. Who’s going to be comfortable is going to be a really important piece of this puzzle.”

“Torey does a really good job of giving us a good idea of how we’re going to be used, which is, I don’t want to say super common in the league,” Thompson said Wednesday. “I think we do a really good job of staying ready, and that phone rings even though we have a good idea what to expect, the unexpected doesn’t throw us for a loop.”

Floro has the most closing experience in the room sans Sewald with 32 saves, 25 between 2021-22. He threw a 1-2-3 inning in his team debut on Friday.

Thompson has seven career saves, three since he signed with the D-backs last summer. He said after Wednesday’s save the key is not glorifying those moments, having a mindset that every MLB inning is as important as the last.

Martinez has closer stuff but let a couple high leverage moments get away from him since the All-Star break, blowing a save at Wrigley Field and picking up an extra-inning loss last weekend. At 23 years old, he continues to grow in those moments.

Puk saved 15 games for the Marlins last season, although after a dazzling start in the role he hit some bumps in July. Miami tried its luck putting him in the starting rotation this spring, and after a tough start and IL stint, Puk found success back in the bullpen. He started his D-backs tenure with three scoreless innings before giving up three hits and a run on Friday.

“I enjoyed my experiences with closing,” Puk told Burns & Gambo. “Whatever role this team’s looking for that they think can help push us forward to make those playoffs, make another World Series run, I’m in for whatever they say.”

What is Paul Sewald’s role now?

Sewald has not gone anywhere, and the D-backs will likely need him with so many games in a row. He did not pitch on Friday after walking three batters and nearly blowing a fifth save in July on Wednesday — he was previously 11-for-11.

“It’s kind of like a bit of a rehab process, right?” Lovullo said. “You got to put him into the right situation. I don’t want to dump him into a 12-1 game. That’s not what he wants, not what he deserves.

“It might be two runs down, it might be four or five runs up in the fifth or sixth inning, or the fourth or fifth inning. It doesn’t matter what the inning is or what the situation is. I want to make sure he knows we still feel very good about him. It’s going to take a little bit of rhythm and a little bit of time for him up on the bump to go out there and get some big outs.”

Lovullo credited Sewald for his professionalism in this situation, as Sewald has been an important clubhouse leader for the team since his arrival.

This bullpen situation will not have an overnight fix, Lovullo said. They will evaluate as it plays out.

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