Toronto grabbed a reliever off the scrap heap and it might matter more than the price tag suggests. The Blue Jays claimed veteran right-hander Paul Sewald off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 12, plugging him into a bullpen that has been running on fumes during their AL East chase.
Sewald, 36, was designated for assignment by Arizona earlier in the week after a rough year. He posted a 6.23 ERA over 39 innings for the Diamondbacks with 44 strikeouts and just nine walks, converting 24 saves before losing the closer role. The ERA is ugly. The peripherals are not.
That is the bet Toronto is making. A strikeout-to-walk ratio near 5-to-1 does not scream cooked. It suggests bad luck, home run trouble in a hitter’s park, and a reliever who can still miss bats when deployed correctly. Sewald was an All-Star as recently as 2023 with Seattle and has a career track record of being useful in high-leverage spots.
The 40-man roster move to fit him in tells you where the Jays are mentally. They recalled Jake Bloss and immediately placed him on the 60-day injured list. Bloss, 25, has a shoulder issue that popped up during his return from Tommy John surgery. Rough news for the young righty, but it opened the door for the veteran addition Toronto needed.
The AL East is tight. Toronto has been trading blows with the Yankees and Rays all summer, and the bullpen has been the softest part of the roster since the deadline. Late-inning options have been thin and inconsistent. Getting a proven late-inning arm for essentially nothing but the remainder of a modest salary is exactly the kind of small win contending teams need in August.
Ross Atkins does not always get credit for these low-risk moves, but this is the type of pickup that decides October races. If Sewald stabilizes and gives John Schneider a reliable seventh-inning option, the calculus on how Toronto navigates a playoff bullpen gets easier. If he does not, the Jays cut him loose in three weeks and move on.
The math on waiver claims is simple. Downside is negligible. Upside is a proven closer at a discount helping you win a division. Toronto took the swing. Now Sewald has to prove Arizona was wrong to cut bait.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
