D-backs bolster 'pen with Sewald, acquire Peterson from A's

SAN FRANCISCO -- The D-backs got their closer on Monday as they acquired right-hander Paul Sewald from the Mariners.

In exchange, Arizona will send infielder Josh Rojas, outfielder/first baseman Dominic Canzone (Arizona's No. 19 prospect) and infielder Ryan Bliss (No. 29 prospect) to Seattle.

TRADE DETAILS
D-backs get: RHP Paul Sewald
Mariners get: INF Josh Rojas, OF/1B Dominic Canzone (Arizona's No. 19 prospect) and INF Ryan Bliss (No. 29 prospect)

In a smaller move on Monday evening, the D-backs acquired infielder Jace Peterson and cash considerations from the A’s for Minor League right-hander Chad Patrick.

Peterson gives Arizona some needed depth in the infield following the trade of Rojas and the injury to third baseman Evan Longoria. Longoria, who was placed on the IL on Saturday with lower back discomfort, is not expected to miss a prolonged period of time.

TRADE DETAILS
D-backs get: INF Jace Peterson and cash considerations
A's get: RHP Chad Patrick

Patrick, who was selected by the D-backs in the fourth round of the 2021 MLB Draft, was pitching for Double-A Amarillo this season.

Finding backend bullpen help was a priority for the D-backs at the Trade Deadline, which is set for 3 p.m. MST on Tuesday. Closing out games has been a problem in an otherwise successful season for Arizona with manager Torey Lovullo mixing and matching right-handers Miguel Castro, Kevin Ginkel and Scott McGough, along with lefty Andrew Chafin, in save situations.

“It’s probably one of the worst-kept secrets in terms of what our goals were coming into the Deadline,” general manager Mike Hazen said. “We wanted to continue to help the bullpen. I think the bullpen has pitched pretty well.

“In the middle month there, we’ve struggled to close out some games in the ninth inning. It’s probably some of the difference between where we’re standing today and where we were standing a month ago.”

The D-backs had dropped 18 of their last 26 games and 11 of 14 in the second half of the season heading into Monday’s series opener against the Giants at Oracle Park.

Arizona has not had a shutdown closer since Fernando Rodney saved 39 games for the 2017 club that won the National League Wild Card.

Lovullo has not wanted to put the closer label on any one reliever this season, but he was happy to do so when he got the news that Sewald was coming.

“This certainly made a big statement,” Lovullo said of the acquisition. “They're all in and they’re pushing this thing in the right direction in the best way they know how.”

Sewald has had an excellent season for Seattle, picking up 21 saves with a 2.93 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 43 innings. Sewald, 33, won’t be a free agent until the end of the 2024 season. He has a 4.09 ERA with 55 saves in 319 Major League innings over seven seasons.

One of the biggest appeals in dealing for Sewald is the fact that he is under club control for the rest of this season and 2024 as well.

“We looked out on the horizon, into the offseason, and I didn’t really want to be dealing with this issue in the offseason, either, because it was going to pop right back around on us,” Hazen said of finding a closer. “We were going to hopefully solve a problem for this year and next. Two playoff runs at it instead of one.”

Hazen said the reliever market has been slow to sort itself out with the D-backs not finding out the asking price until the past few days.

Discussions with the Mariners about Sewald started to pick up steam on Friday when the two clubs opened a three-game series at Chase Field. It finally started to heat up Sunday and into Monday as the deal began to come together.

Sewald is expected to arrive in San Francisco on Tuesday and be available for that evening’s game against the Giants.

“They've been doing great,” Sewald said of the D-backs. “They just had a bad July. Mike [Hazen] called me and said, ‘You know, we're sinking a little bit, we need some help.’ And I’m going to go do what I can to try to solidify the ninth inning, and hopefully give them a jolt of energy.

“Hopefully everyone in the bullpen can just relax and fall into where they're supposed to be and, we can kind of right that ship.”

Rojas, 29, is a career .252/.330/.367 hitter with 22 homers, 77 doubles and 43 steals in 381 MLB games, all with the D-backs. He's played mostly third base in the Majors (150 games), but he has also played second, shortstop and both corner outfield spots.

Canzone, 25, has posted a .661 OPS with one homer since making his MLB debut on July 8, but he's got a .933 OPS with 60 homers in four Minor League seasons, while Bliss tore through Double-A this year to the tune of a 1.008 OPS (12 homers, 30 steals), though it's been rougher going in 13 Triple-A games.

The 23-year-old Bliss was poised to make a big jump on MLB Pipeline's list of the D-backs' Top 30 Prospects in the midseason re-rank set to be unveiled next week.