The Cleveland Guardians showed their faith in Paul Sewald by signing him to a free agent contract in the offseason.
He wasn’t as good as the team hoped in the first few weeks of the 2025 campaign, posting a 6.17 ERA in 14 games before going down with a right shoulder strain in late April.
The Guardians know that a healthy, motivated Sewald can make a difference in the bullpen, so they have patiently waited for him to get healthy.
He started throwing bullpen sessions in early June and a live batting practice session just three days ago.
On Tuesday, Sewald took an important step towards a potential return in a few days, completing a clean inning in the first game of his rehab assignment at Double-A Akron.
Rehab Update:@CleGuardians pitcher Paul Sewald tossed a scoreless inning with a strikeout! pic.twitter.com/w5f2SAfYon
— Akron RubberDucks (@AkronRubberDuck) June 25, 2025
The right-hander did concede a hit, but that was the extent of the damage.
He got a strikeout and got three quick outs, completing his inning in just 12 pitches.
Nine of those were strikes.
As long as he keeps showing he can handle the opposition he gets in the minors, Sewald shouldn’t be too far off from being activated from the injured list.
Perhaps it was odd to watch the Guardians pay $7 million to reinforce a position of strength back in the offseason, but that doesn’t mean that Sewald is a bad pitcher or can’t meaningfully contribute to their playoff quest.
If he is 100 percent, Sewald provides a strikeout arm for the late innings with postseason experience.
That’s the version that the Guardians are trying to get back at some point in the second half.
NEXT: Guardians Welcome Former All-Star Back To Cleveland
