Insider Reveals Why The Guardians Signed Paul Sewald

The Cleveland Guardians are already all set at the closer position.

They have one of the best in business, with Emmanuel Clase fishing last season with a 4-2 record, a 0.61 ERA, a 0.659 WHIP, and 47 saves.

He led the league in saves for the third time in as many years and earned his third consecutive All-Star nod.

That’s why some fans and analysts weren’t so high on the Paul Sewald pickup.

While a decent player, he isn’t going to get many opportunities to close games with Clase there.

However, it appears that the team views him, despite his injuries, as an insurance policy.

Per Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com, the team didn’t want to wear Clase out so much, given that he has been a true workhorse over the past three years.

That way, Sewald can provide some much-needed veteran expertise as a set-up man or even handle closing duties every now and then if needed:

“The Guardians want to give manager Stephen Vogt and pitching coach Carl Willis lots of options in the bullpen. But it is worth noting Clase has appeared in more games over the last three seasons than anyone else in the American League. Furthermore, being the closer, there are no such things as easy innings. Everything is high leverage, as the modern baseball folks call it. Giving Vogt a veteran reliever with closing experience can carry some of the burden,” Pluto said.

There are legitimate concerns about Sewald’s health.

Then again, it’s not like he was a big-money signing or anything.

You can never have too many weapons in the bullpen, and with the Guardians’ elite pitching coaching staff and system, he should fit in like a glove.

Granted, there’s no reason to believe Clase will fall off or anything like that, but with so many innings under his belt, you can never have too many experienced options looking to take care of business down the stretch.