Paul Sewald turned his 2026 season around upon joining the Blue Jays’ bullpen
Photo credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Nov 1, 2026, 15:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 1, 2026, 13:15 EST
Across a 162-game season, Major League Baseball teams are almost always forced to shuffle their bullpens, as injuries can strike at any moment, and relievers can be volatile from year to year.
In the Toronto Blue Jays’ case, they added Paul Sewald after he was let go by the Arizona Diamondbacks, and proceeded to finish out the 2026 season strong north of the border.
How the year went
On February 14, Sewald was signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks to a one-year, $1.5-million contract to help shore up the club’s bullpen. The 2026 campaign started strong for Sewald as he opened the year by throwing scoreless outings in nine of his first 10 appearances, a stretch where he picked up seven saves in seven opportunities.
Sewald appeared to have a firm grip on the closer’s role as May concluded with the right-hander picking up seven more saves, and a 3.48 ERA, but as the summer went on, the 36-year-old’s effectiveness started to wane.
In June, Sewald recorded a 6.23 ERA, which was followed by an 8.22 ERA in July. Sewald was struggling mightily with the long ball, as in July, he allowed five home runs over 7.2 innings, and was tagged with two blown saves.
By August, Sewald was removed as the Diamondbacks’ closer as his struggles continued. On August 1 against the Cleveland Guardians, Sewald turned in a pitching line of 0.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, an outing which ballooned his ERA to 6.45 across 43 games.
Nine days later, Sewald was designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks, and his future in the big leagues appeared to be hanging in the balance. On August 12, with an overworked bullpen, the Blue Jays claimed him, and he made his debut in a Toronto uniform four days later.
Upon joining the Blue Jays’ bullpen, Sewald found instant success, highlighted by 11 straight scoreless appearances. Sewald closed out the year by allowing only one earned run in 17 outings with the Blue Jays, a stretch that included nine strikeouts and limiting opponents to a .122 average over 14.1 innings.
Sewald closed out his 10th season in the majors by pitching a scoreless top of the ninth during the Blue Jays’ 5-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Sewald received the ball from Myles Straw, who caught Héctor Rodríguez’s flyout to end the contest, and while speaking to The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon on September 27, he touched on his future in MLB due to his pending free-agent status.
“I’m not done if the league wants me, but I don’t know,” Sewald said. “Are we going to play baseball next year? Then I’d be 38 the next time we play. I tried to not take a single out for granted this year.”
Sewald closed out 2026 by pitching in 62 games between both the Diamondbacks and Blue Jays and going 2-5 with a 4.73 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. Sewald struck out 53 batters across 53.1 innings and limited opponents to a .202 average.
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