Guardians' New Pitcher Reveals Puzzled Reaction to Being Signed

The Cleveland Guardians added a new member to their bullpen this offseason, signing former Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Paul Sewald.

Sewald is expected to play a crucial role for the Guardians in 2025, especially after Cleveland cut ties with a couple of key relievers from last year.

However, the 34-year-old revealed that he was initially somewhat puzzled when the Guardians expressed interest in him.

"That was my first question for Chris [Antonetti] in our Zoom when I was being recruited to come here," Sewald said. "Why do you want me? You have the best bullpen in baseball."

It didn't take the right-hander long to understand, as he even noted that "you can never have too many relievers."

That's certainly true, especially in the case of a Cleveland squad that relied heavily on its bullpen throughout its run to the ALCS in 2024.

Sewald made 42 appearances for the Diamondbacks last season, going 1-2 with a 4.31 ERA while allowing 35 hits and registering 43 strikeouts over 39.2 innings of work.

The Las Vegas native broke into the big leagues with the New York Mets in 2017 and spent four underwhelming seasons in New York before signing with the Seattle Mariners in 2021.

That was when Sewald found his groove, as he logged a 3.06 ERA while racking up 104 punchouts across 64.2 frames during his inaugural campaign with the Mariners. He spent two-and-a-half years in Seattle and was eventually dealt to Arizona midway through 2023.

Sewald has averaged 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings over the course of his career, which was certainly a major draw for the Guardians.

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