Injuries have crushed the Diamondbacks in the first six weeks of the season, but now some of those injured players are starting to come back. Closer Paul Sewald is the first key player to come back from his injury, as the team has activated him from the 15-day injured list and has optioned struggling reliever Scott McGough to Triple-A Reno.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Today's #Dbacks roster moves. pic.twitter.com/obzEUQtT9G
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) May 7, 2024
Getting Paul Sewald back is huge, as he’ll likely resume being the team’s closer. He was placed on the injured list for the first time of his career on March 25th with a “low Grade 2” left oblique strain on March 25th. Sewald expressed disappointment and frustration when he talked about it on March 27th.
Arizona has gotten some quality outings from Kevin Ginkel and Ryan Thompson in the back end of the bullpen, but the rest of the unit has struggled in spots. Sewald not only provided stability for the ninth inning but also leadership to the team’s relief unit last season. They’ll need the same out of him again in 2024 to dig out of a 15-20 hole to begin the season.
McGough has been the team’s poster child for the bullpen struggles, pitching to a 6.75 ERA in 15 appearances with 10 walks and 10 strikeouts in 2024. His fastball has been hit hard this season, with opposing batters hitting .429 with a .857 slugging percentage. While the slider and splitter have yielded decent results, hitters have checked off those pitches and sat on the four-seamer. McGough is ineligible to be recalled to the major league roster before May 22nd, unless to replace an injured player.
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Michael McDermott is the lead writer covering the Arizona Diamondbacks for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
