With Paul Sewald’s recent struggles forcing a bullpen shakeup, the Arizona Diamondbacks are on the hunt for a high-leverage relief arm.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are in sole possession of the second Wild Card spot in the National League, so not making a move or two in the next 72 hours would be interesting, to say the least.
Arizona likely isn't going to be able to compete for a National League West title, but they have a tremendous record and have been firing on all cylinders lately.
Recently, USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale revealed that they're interested in acquiring a first baseman, but that's not their top priority.
Paul Sewald's struggles have complicated things, so that's exactly why this team is prioritizing relief pitching over anything else.
Diamondbacks would love to add a reliever
While they don't necessarily have to bring in a closer, Arizona is stuck between a rock and a hard place with Sewald.
The 36-year-old last pitched on Tuesday, July 28, and he was only able to record one out in 13 pitches. The Pittsburgh Pirates jumped on him with three hits and ended up scoring a trio of earned runs. The most brutal part? They hit a pair of homers in the 13 pitches Sewald threw.
Officially, Sewald has blown two of his last three save attempts. He only has three blown saves on the year, but he sports an 8.22 ERA in the month of July, and that's simply not going to cut it.
"The Arizona Diamondbacks would love to find a first baseman, but have let teams know their biggest priority is relief pitching after removing Paul Sewald from the closer’s role this week," Nightengale wrote.
The D-backs improved to 58-52 with a 4-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday, July 31, one that saw Brandyn Garcia pick up his third save of the year. After racking up 13 holds throughout the course of the season, he's become the team's go-to closer as he's now gotten the save in his last two appearances.
Looking at Arizona's options
The best reliever on the market, by far, is San Diego Padres' Mason Miller. The asking price on him seems to be outrageous, though, and while he'd be worth every penny, that's not a move the D-backs are likely to make.
The New York Mets are putting feelers out there for Luke Weaver, and even Devin Williams. The problem with Williams is that he's owed $30 million in the final two years of his contract.
As for Weaver, he's set to earn $12.5 million next season, so at the very least he's a slightly cheaper option.
Elsewhere, the Toronto Blue Jays have reliever Jeff Hoffman on the market, someone who's been getting a ton of interest from the Philadelphia Phillies.
