Toronto Blue Jays acquire veteran pitcher as playoff race heats up

The Toronto Blue Jays are doing everything in their power to help their banged-up pitching staff.

The Blue Jays claimed relief pitcher Paul Sewald off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday. The 36-year-old was designated for assignment by Arizona on Monday.

Hearing the @BlueJays have claimed Paul Sewald who was DFAed by the @Dbacks this week.

— Steve Gilbert (@SteveGilbertMLB) August 12, 2026

The designation came following an ugly stretch for Sewald in which he posted a ghastly 12.79 ERA over his last 12.2 innings. He had previously put up a 3.08 ERA across 26.1 innings. Over the entire 2026 season, he has picked up 24 saves. 

The MLB veteran has pitched 435 innings during his 10-year career with the Diamondbacks, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Guardians, and Detroit Tigers. Over that span, the right hander has put up a 4.30 ERA with 514 strikeouts.

Sewald is likely to operate as a middle relief pitcher for the Blue Jays, who are heating up with wins in five of their last seven games. The strong stretch has them just 2.5 games back of a wild-card position.

The Jays are currently in the midst of a four-game series versus the Boston Red Sox, who sit second in the AL East standings at 64-55. Toronto has a chance to win that series on Wednesday after taking the first two outings. 

The divisional matchups will continue for the Blue Jays immediately afterward, as they will go up against the New York Yankees in a three-game series beginning on Friday, before another three-game series versus the Tampa Bays which begins next Tuesday.

In total, 30 of the final 41 games the Blue Jays have remaining on the season come against teams currently outside of a playoff position, giving them a legitimate shot at crawling their way back into a wild-card spot should they continue their recent surge.