Rangers were right to take a hard pass on DFA'd veteran closer

The Rangers were able to swing an intradivisional deal to get veteran reliever Chase Silseth from the Angels at the trade deadline, but could still be in the market for more right-handed bullpen arms to go with their stable of rookies, including Peyton Gray and Ben Peoples.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have parted ways with long-time closer Paul Sewald after DFA'ing him on August 5 and clearing waivers. Sewald has had an odd year, but has a lot of high-leverage experience late in ballgames.

Logically, getting another arm for the 'pen from the veteran DFA market would have made a lot of sense, but was Sewald the guy to target? Texas didn't think so, and the 36-year-old was snapped up by the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Rangers should pass on the recently DFA'd Paul Sewald for multiple reasons

The 36-year-old Sewald had a solid start to the season with Arizona working as their primary closer. He converted 24 out of 27 save opportunities and looked like he was on his way to repeating some of his best years that he had with the Mariners from 2022-2024. Then he fell off a cliff and hit a midsummer slump that he couldn't shake. Over his last 12.2 innings before being cut loose, he struggled, posting a 12.79 ERA and allowing eight long balls. So he clearly isn't in top form, and being in the back end of his 30s, you have to wonder if his best days are behind him.

Add to that a surging Peyton Gray, who has been improving each week, the addition of Silseth, and the impending return of Jakob Junis from the IL, and the Rangers may actually be trending in the right direction with their right-handed relief situation.

With the emergence of Cody Bradford, Jordan Montgomery's return to the staff, Kumar Rocker possibly being moved to the bullpen, and Jack Leiter scheduled to come back from injury in the next few weeks, the organization has plenty of options without having to kick the tires on a guy like Sewald, who is mired in poor form and beyond his halcyon days.

Even with Nathan Eovaldi missing a few weeks, the team is finally getting healthy, and the youngsters are becoming salty enough to hold their own. It's almost strange to see the Rangers having a surplus of solid arms coming together in time for the stretch run.

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