The Arizona Diamondbacks are a team that have flown under the radar thus far in 2026, but with a record of 63-56, they’re now just 7.5 games back in the National League West division race, while occupying the second spot in the NL Wild Card race.
On top of that, the team just completed a series victory over the division leading Los Angeles Dodgers, and with the team starting to peak at the right time, they’re a team that’s seen as a genuine threat in the National League. However, they’ve had to make a major change on Monday, and after weeks of struggles, that means they’ve now parted ways with a pitcher that has a decade of experience in Major League Baseball.
Diamondbacks Officially DFA Paul Sewald
GettyPaul Sewald of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
That player would be 36-year-old Paul Sewald, who the D-Backs acquired this past winter after he spent the 2025 campaign split between two Central Division rivals in the Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers.
While he started the year well, Sewald has struggled immensely as of late, and after 45 games, he now has a WAR of -1.1, making him one of the worst relievers in baseball, costing Arizona crucial games in their post-season push. As a result, the team have decided enough is enough, and on Monday, it was reported by John Gambadoro that the team have designated Sewald for assignment, meaning they’ll be moving on from the 36-year-old veteran.
Overall on the season, Sewald now has a 2-5 record with a 6.23 ERA across 39.0 innings of work, and after giving up 34 hits in that time, it became clear to the Diamondbacks from office that the time to move on from the veteran was now, as he actively became a deterrent to their success, with the team finally admitting it and moving on from him after his struggles got worse and worse.
Can the Diamondbacks be a Post-Season Team in 2026?
While Sewald has struggled, the pitching staff as a whole rank 16th in the league with a combined 4.17 ERA, and given that the lineup ranks 12th in runs scored, it tracks that this could be a team that are genuine playoff threats in the National League.
This is a team that we’ve seen get hot in the past few years as well, as they rode momentum all the way to the World Series in 2023 in a matchup with the Texas Rangers, and if they can get some consistency out of their bullpen now that they’ve moved on from Sewald, they’re as balanced a squad overall as any in the National League.
Only time will tell if they can find a replacement for the 36-year-old, but this appears to be a move of addition by subtraction after Sewald posted a 6.23 ERA across 45 appearances, and if their team can be at their best between now and October, there’s no reason why they can’t be a threat to anyone and everyone in the post-season.
Diamondbacks DFA 10-Year MLB Pitcher After Dodgers Series