D-backs vs. Brewers Discussion

Roster moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the following roster moves. The D-backs’ 40-man roster is at 40.

• Recalled from Triple-A Reno: INF/OF Tim Tawa
• Optioned to Triple-A Reno following last night’s game: INF LuJames Groover

And right into the line-up goes Tawa… at third-base? A position where he has made one previous start in his 107 major-league appearances. All told, only 266 professional innings at the hot corner for Tim, with 85 or so over the last couple of seasons. So let’s hope this works out.

Yesterday was Paul Sewald’s 20th save of the season. He’s the first Arizona pitcher to reach that mark before the All-Star break since Brad Boxberger in 2018, who had 24 saves in the first half. With eight games still left to play, another couple could quite possibly be in Paul’s wheelhouse. If he does record two more saves, it will leave Sewald behind only Boxberger and Jose Valverde (26 in 2007). It has been a while since we have had a “reliable” closer (and I’ll get to those quotes in a bit). In this decade so far, never mind twenty saves, the only D-backs with more than ten saves before the break were Mark Melancon in 2022, and Sewald in 2024, his previous time here – both men had 13.

However, there’s no doubt that Sewald has been lucky. He has allowed runs in eight of his 35 appearances, but has saved 20 of his 21 opportunities. Last night was a case in point, allowing a solo home-run. Indeed, he has conceded four runs over his last three save situations and innings. Fortunately, the lead he was handed in each was exactly large enough to allow him to exit with an eventual one-run win and save. Had he entered in them with a one-run lead to start with, he’d have blown three consecutive chances. We would then likely be having a very different conversation about Sewald, leading up to the All-Star break.

Paul currently sits sixth in the majors for saves. But at 4.50, he is the only man in the top ten with an ERA even at four. The average across the other nine closers is just 2.05, less than half of Sewald’s figure. His FIP and xFIP are also the highest in the group, so that doesn’t make the picture any brighter. xERA, a stat based on quality of contact, does improve Paul’s number by more than a run, dropping him to 3.39. That’s better than MLB saves leader Cade Smith of Cleveland, who has 26 saves and an xERA of 3.62. We’d better hope Sewald can stay away from barrels, and continue doing such a masterful job of pitching to the scoreboard.

Public service announcement: today’s game is on Peacock.