5 under-the-radar free agent relievers the Pirates should pursue

Paul Sewald

Paul Sewald entered the season as the Arizona Diamondbacks’ closing pitcher. After three straight strong seasons with the D-Backs and Seattle Mariners, expectations were high for Sewald. But he fell short of those, as he worked to a 4.31 ERA, 3.95 FIP, and 1.13 WHIP across an injury-limited 39.2 innings of work.

Sewald still struck out batters at a solid 26.1% rate, but more importantly, he put up a career-best 6.1% walk rate. Sewald was prone to hard contact with a 90 MPH opponents' exit velocity, paired with a 9.2% barrel rate. While the 2024 season did not go as planned, there is reason to believe Sewald could rebound in 2025.

For starters, Sewald has a very good track record. From 2021 through 2023, Sewald owned a 2.95 ERA, 3.51 FIP, and 0.98 WHIP. The right-hander was also durable during those three seasons, tossing at least 60 frames in each campaign. He punched out 33.9% of opponents along the way with a respectable 8.6% walk rate. Despite an 86.8 MPH exit velocity, Sewald was always prone to home runs with a 1.33 HR/9 and 9.1% barrel rate across 2021-2023.

Another reason Sewald could rebound is because his stuff was still decent. Stuff+ still held him in high regard at 118. That’s a step down from 127 from 2021-2023, but it was still the best among any Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher with at least 30 frames. A third reason why Sewald could rebound is because ERA estimators liked his work. xFIP did not, as it put him at 4.31, but SIERA (3.48) and xERA (3.78) were much kinder to his body of work.