Paul Sewald, the veteran righ-handed relief pitcher will sign a one-year, $7 million deal with the Cleveland Guardians, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
A seasoned veteran, Sewald has shown immense potential throughout his career. With his 2023 season performance fresh in mind, the Guardians are looking past a sub-par year and hoping the right-hander returns to form in 2025 as a premium relief pitcher. Throughout his career, the right-handed pitcher has accumulated an ERA of 4.09 over 376 innings pitched with 450 strikeouts and a 1.15 WHIP.
Paul Sewald, Guardians Agree to One-Year Deal
Sewald has shown the potential to dominate in a closer role, but can also fill in on any latter-inning assignment. After starting his career in 2017 with the New York Mets and posting an ERA of 4.55 over 65 innings, Sewald struggled to improve his numbers during his time in New York. After he signed with the Seattle Mariners in 2021, Sewald saw steady improvement, culminating in a showcase 2023 season complete with a 3.12 ERA and 80 strikeouts.
The Arizona Diamondbacks would go on to acquire Sewald in late July of 2023 and continued his dominance en route to a successful postseason run with the DBacks. However, his last two outings in the World Series proved fatal to the Snakes’ chances, as the Texas Rangers capitalized on this rare slip in form and took the series in 5 games. Multiple injuries in 2024 led to some stat slippage, albeit with no major contractual consequences. Due to his previous showings, Sewald still emerged from free agency with a solid contract in hand and ready for what comes next.
Cleveland had the best bullpen last year. Their biggest contributors are set to return this year, but they did part ways with Eli Morgan and Nick Sandlin. Both of those pitchers provided much-needed depth last season. Now, Sewald will fill that void that’s been missing.
Main Photo: © Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK
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