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Toronto Blue Jays willing to take a chance on former Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher coming off rough season
Photo credit: MLB.com
The Toronto Blue Jays apparently could be interested in signing former Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Paul Sewald despite rough 2024 season.
Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins told reporters at the GM meetings that he planned on being creative when looking to add pitchers to their bullpen this off-season.
At last week's MLB GM Meetings, Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins said the team would need to get «creative» in overhauling the club's bullpen ahead of the 2025 season. «Creative» can mean many things; shopping at the top of the market, making trades, minor league free agents, internal players stepping up, and bounce-back candidates returning to form. -Hunter
The Blue Jays are interested in former Diamonds pitcher Paul Sewald
Sewald had a tough season in Arizona in 2024 after dealing with multiple injuries and only pitching 39.2 innings with a 4.31 ERA which is not terrible but when compared to his previous three seasons, it is definitely a lot worse.
His workload ramped up in July as he made 12 appearances, but his ERA that month alone shot up to 10.80. Sewald started the month with appearances where he blew leads in consecutive games, then blew a save which took his ERA up to 3.93. By the end of July, the Diamondbacks had seen enough and removed Sewald from the closer's role. It got so bad that the Dbacks didn't trust him pitching in leverage at all, and he finished the season in low leverage spots. -Hunter
The Blue Jays could be interested in signing Sewald on a bargain deal with hopes that he could return to the relief pitcher he was between 2021 and 2023 when his ERA floated around 3.00.
Heading into 2024, Sewald was on a great run as a reliable high-leverage right-handed reliever, which makes him a strong bounce-back candidate in 2025. He also should be a buy-low option for a team like the Blue Jays, but the unfortunate part is that 29 other teams are also thinking the same thing. -Hunter
This could be a low risk option for the Blue Jays but at the same time they are likely not the only team thinking this way about Sewald.
Source: Blue Jays Nation
Free Agent Profile: The Blue Jays should bet on Paul Sewald as a bounce-back candidate
Free Agent Profile: The Blue Jays should bet on Paul Sewald as a bounce-back candidate
Previously on Blue Jays Insider
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 16 | 1610 ANSWERS Toronto Blue Jays willing to take a chance on former Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher coming off rough season Should the Blue Jays make Paul Sewald an offer? | ||
| Yes | 666 | 41.4 % |
| No | 944 | 58.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
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