Arizona Diamondbacks acquire Seattle Mariners’ reliever Paul Sewald for three players

In acquiring reliever Paul Sewald from the Seattle Mariners for a three-player package on Monday afternoon, the Diamondbacks believe they not only added the closer they have been lacking this year but also got a jump on the relief market for next year.

Sewald, 33, comes to the Diamondbacks after a successful three-year run with the Mariners, for whom he logged a 2.93 ERA with 21 saves in 24 chances this season. Since the start of 2021, he owns a 2.88 ERA with 236 strikeouts in 171 2/3 innings.

“We wanted to continue to support this team, believe in this team,” General Manager Mike Hazen said. “And so part of it was that, but the other part of it was we looked out on the horizon, into the offseason, and I didn’t really want to be dealing with this issue in the offseason, either, because it was going to pop right back around on us.”

The acquisition did not come cheaply, but in parting with outfielder Dominic Canzone, infielder Josh Rojas and infield prospect Ryan Bliss, the Diamondbacks were able to trade from areas of depth that they can theoretically replace from within.

For years, however, they have had trouble finding viable replacements in the bullpen. They are hoping Sewald, who is not eligible for free agency until after next season, will help solve that issue.

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Sewald relies on a two-pitch mix — a fastball that averages 92 mph along with a sweeper. He throws each half the time, inducing healthy whiff rates of 31.4 percent and 32.8 percent on the pitches, respectively.

The Diamondbacks bullpen has been a trouble spot for the club this year, particularly in recent weeks, as relievers Andrew Chafin, Miguel Castro and Scott McGough all have struggled in recent outings. All three have seen time working the ninth inning but all three have failed to hold down the job. More recently, reliever Kevin Ginkel has served as the closer of choice.

“We think Paul is going to be a good addition in solidifying the back end, pushing everybody up a little bit,” Hazen said. “I think it gives Torey some options.”

The Diamondbacks have fallen on hard times in recent weeks, losing 18 of their past 26 games overall and 11 of 14 since the All-Star break. Once atop their division, they are now in fourth place in the NL West and are one game out of a wild-card spot. They opened a key four-game series against the Giants on Monday night in San Francisco.

Hazen said the recent struggles made acquiring a pitcher with multiple years of control even more important. If the Diamondbacks continue on their recent trajectory, rental acquisitions would be for naught. Acquiring someone like Sewald, however, allows the team to push for “two playoff runs at it instead of one,” Hazen said.

The bullpen’s issues have been a significant part of the club’s overall downturn, but Hazen said doing a deal prior to Monday was cost prohibitive.

“We’d been calling two weeks ago, three weeks ago,” Hazen said. “You know, you’re not getting a deal done (then). And if you’re getting a deal done at that time, the cost is insane, and rightly so. They’re telling you, ‘Hey, if you’re going to get an extra month out of this guy, you’re going to pay for it.’

Paul Sewald trade reaction: Arizona Diamondbacks get 'legit' closer from Seattle Mariners

“Sometimes, that makes sense. In this case, it didn’t. To be frank, on the reliever market, we didn’t really get prices until recently. It wasn’t something where we had a choice in front of us and we said no. We basically got our prices here in the last few days.”

Hazen spoke glowingly of the players with whom he parted, most of it seemingly aimed at Rojas, whose headiness, competitive and overall style of play had made him someone the club had hoped to build around as recently as the start of the season. But his struggles at the plate this year — he logged just a .228/.292/.296 line with no homers in 189 at-bats — led not just to his demotion to Triple-A Reno in June but to him being passed on the third-base depth chart by Emmanuel Rivera.

Canzone, meanwhile, went from being unprotected in the winter — and undrafted in the Rule 5 — to putting up huge numbers in Reno (.354/.431/.634) and contributing to several wins for the big league club in recent. However, he, too, was seemingly expendable given the Diamondbacks’ abundance of left-handed hitting outfielders.

“You never really want to give up off your team when you’re in it in this situation, but I don’t think there were a lot of great choices for us to accomplish what we wanted to accomplish,” Hazen said. “In the end I was focused more on what we were getting in terms of helping the rest of our club, but it was extremely difficult.”

Hazen noted that, in this case, his organization’s ability to develop outfielders has helped it plug a hole in an area in which it has not developed well.

With time still remaining before Tuesday’s 3 p.m. deadline, Hazen said he is still looking for ways to add to his roster, and he did not limit his search to pitching. That said, he did not make it seem like a rotation addition was on the horizon, mentioning that he would like to see what some of his young starters in Reno can do with a big-league opportunity. Right-hander Slade Cecconi is expected to make his debut this week in San Francisco.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: D-Backs address bullpen issues by trading for Mariners' Paul Sewald