Blue Jays claim veteran reliever Paul Sewald off waivers from Diamondbacks

The Toronto Blue Jays added veteran bullpen help on Wednesday by claiming right-hander Paul Sewald off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks. The move gives Toronto another experienced option for high-leverage innings, particularly as the club manages late-season workload and matchup planning.

Sewald, 36, has appeared in 45 games for Arizona this season, posting a 6.23 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. Opponents have managed a.228 batting average against him, and his control and missing-bats profile includes a 5.5% walk rate and a 27.0% strikeout rate. In the National League standings of roles, his save total also stands out: he has 24 saves, tied for fourth in the league.

A Las Vegas, Nevada native, Sewald’s MLB path includes a decade-long run as a dependable relief arm after being selected by the New York Mets in the 10th round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of San Diego. He made his MLB debut with the Mets in 2017, and he has since suited up for several organizations. Across 10 MLB seasons, he has appeared in 426 games and has compiled a 4.30 ERA with a 1.14 WHIP and a.220 opponent batting average, with 110 career saves.

The waiver claim is a reminder that the bullpen market often tightens late in the season, especially for teams that want to match up specific skill sets against both right-handed and left-handed bats. Sewald’s statistical resume is built around the save role, and while the numbers from this particular season show some volatility compared with his broader career line, Toronto is taking on a known commodity with major-league innings behind him.

For the Blue Jays, the practical impact is depth and flexibility. Rather than relying solely on one defined closer path, Toronto can distribute high-leverage work across multiple relievers depending on game state, opponent lineup construction, and recent usage. Sewald’s history of closing games and managing tough late innings also helps in games where leverage rises quickly, such as one-run contests and late-inning comebacks.

Arizona’s side, meanwhile, loses a reliever who has been central to its save opportunities, including a top-tier league rank in that category. Whether the Diamondbacks are rebalancing their bullpen roles internally or opening a door for other arms is a team-specific decision that typically becomes clearer after the waiver deadline, but the roster change itself indicates a shift in how Arizona is thinking about its late-inning stability.

What to watch next for Toronto is how quickly the new addition fits into the bullpen hierarchy. The immediate questions are role assignment and usage pattern, including whether Sewald is deployed in the seventh to ninth inning window, how frequently he faces certain hitters, and how his performance trends compare to his 2026 line once he begins working in a new team environment.