The Cleveland Guardians made a bit of a surprise move when they went after Paul Sewald.
Truth be told, even he was shocked to hear that they were legitimately interested in his services.
That’s why he reportedly asked the team why they even wanted him in the first place, given how dominant their bullpen was last season:
“Why do you want me? You have the best bullpen in baseball,” Sewald said.
That’s a legitimate question, and one many fans asked as well.
The 34-year-old didn’t have a good season last year with the Arizona Diamondbacks, logging a 4.31 ERA.
Nevertheless, he has a long track record of proven success in the league.
He’s logged 84 career saves in his eight years in the Majors, and clearly, the team believes last season’s struggles were just an outlier.
Needless to say, the Guardians have the best closer in the game in Emmanuel Clase, so it’s not like they needed another one to compete with him.
Then again, Clase has had plenty of work over the past couple of years, and it never hurts to have an insurance policy there.
They clearly don’t need Sewald to handle closer duties, but having him there gives them someone reliable to turn to if Clase gets hurt or anything happens.
You have to be prepared.
More than that, it gives the team another potentially elite setup man to bolster their already spectacular bullpen.
Sewald was a low-risk/high-reward pickup, especially at that price.
You can never have too many good pitchers in your bullpen, and even good things can get better.
NEXT: MLB Predicts Guardians' Lineup And Rotation
