SCOTTSDALE — When asked how many bullpen jobs are up for grabs in spring training, Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo replied, “all eight.”
There are safer bets, namely Ryan Thompson and Kevin Ginkel, but the Diamondbacks have assembled a chest of relief options, many of whom were not with the organization a year ago.
From the trade deadline through this offseason (so far), the D-backs have added to the 40-man roster (age):
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- RHP Juan Burgos (26)
- RHP Taylor Clarke (32)
- LHP Brandyn Garcia (25)
- RHP Andrew Hoffmann (26)
- RHP Kade Strowd (28)
- RHP Paul Sewald (35)
- RHP Grant Holman (25)
That does not include numerous non-roster invitees, including Jonathan Loaisiga, Isaiah Campbell and Derek Law.
The Diamondbacks have to piece their bullpen together before reinforcements come off the injured list.
Southpaw A.J. Puk (elbow) is confident he’ll be back before July, while right-hander Justin Martinez is looking at August (Tommy John). The two entered 2025 as co-closers before undergoing surgeries. Left-hander Andrew Saalfrank (shoulder) is not pitching this season.
Arizona’s additions have created a surplus, and the Diamondbacks have to figure out who will close games and which combination young arms best rounds out a bullpen with a lot of options and little certainty.
Who could be the closer of the Diamondbacks?
What’s clear is that the Diamondbacks want to name a closer, again.
The D-backs have been asked the same question entering spring training many times over the years: Who is going to pitch the ninth inning? This time, it comes up after the club used a major league-record 17 pitchers to save games last year.
“I’d be more hopeful we solidify somebody into that spot rather than managing it how we had to in September of last year,” general manager Mike Hazen said.
It appears that someone with previous experience is the likely choice.
“I do want to have that closer I’m very well aware of, that can come in and be unrattled and pound the zone,” Lovullo said. “If you get beat, you get beat. I don’t want balls thrown in places where it results in base on balls, that drives me crazy. Put the ball on the plate. Don’t be afraid of contact and let your defense do the work for you. Believe in your stuff. So when I see a young pitcher do that, and it’s time, I might migrate them to a position of making the team A and B, maybe get some bigger outs on the back end.”
Lovullo said the initial candidates are obvious, naming Sewald, Ginkel and Thompson, the back end of the 2023 Diamondbacks’ bullpen that was so critical to that version of the team’s success.
Sewald, Ginkel and Thompson
Sewald said he is healthy after a shoulder injury-marred 2025. With Cleveland and Detroit, he only threw 19.2 innings and saw a decrease in fastball velocity to 90.4 mph (92.2 mph in 2023).
The last time he was in Arizona, he lost the closer role in the second half of 2024. After an 11-for-11 start in save opportunities, the door swung the other way in July and doomed his D-backs tenure, or so we thought.
Before then, his addition in 2023 was integral to Arizona making a run in the postseason, and team president and CEO Derrick Hall told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta praised his importance in the clubhouse, as well.
“I pitched at the end of last season,” Sewald said. “I thought that was my way of showing people I was healthy in free agency. Didn’t feel that way, but I feel great. I’m excited to be here. I had a normal offseason, and I’m ready to go.
“I thought I threw the ball decent. It was a super small sample size. … I threw a lot of strikes, and that’s what I’m going to come here to do. We’re going to do the best we can to make them quality strikes so we get those results.”
He signed for only one year and $1.5 million, basically a flier, and he said he’s here to pitch whenever he’s told.
Sewald said to expect fastballs up in the zone and sliders, same as always, and he just has to locate them. He has 86 career saves, but at 35 years old and coming off shoulder problems, there are going to be questions about declining stuff unless he can prove otherwise.
Ginkel also went through the shoulder injury wringer last season, which he ended with grisly numbers in 29 games (7.36 ERA).
There were reasons to be optimistic, however, as he compiled a 1.98 ERA over his final 14 games.
Ginkel said he had a normal offseason, as well, and he knows his name is in the mix to close.
“If I can take care of what I need to, the cards will fall where they may,” Ginkel said.
Thompson struggled through May last year but otherwise continued to provide stability. The side-armer finished with a 3.92 ERA, but that clip was 1.16 over his final 29 of 48 appearances.
He said tipping pitches was an issue that has been addressed, which he attributed to the improved results down the stretch.
“I had like four bad games in a row and that was frustrating. You delete that stretch, and I had an electric season,” Thompson told Arizona Sports. “That’s something we’re already discussing is making sure we clean that stuff up, not tipping pitches. And then just like trying to be more consistent with what I do. I got really good towards the end of the season of showing up every day with a plan and executing instead of trying to be the jack of all trades and maybe not as consistent.”
Ginkel has 16 career saves and has only been a bridge closer before. Thompson really has not been in that role with Arizona, as he has four saves with the club over the past three seasons.
All three relievers will be free agents at the end of this season.
Why not sign a big-ticket closer?
The free agent market was filled with established big league closers, and they signed quickly for a lot of money.
Arizona showed interest in more expensive closer-types (Pete Fairbanks, for example), but with a roster that needed reinforcements in the starting rotation and lineup, the club opted not to go all-in on one reliever.
“It was something we talked about. There wasn’t an unlimited supply of those guys out there for us, the trade market is pretty expensive in that area, too,” Hazen said. “I’m not shutting off that we won’t go do those things at this point. It’s still February. We’re still not done putting together this roster. … We realize how important the bullpen is.”
The D-backs expected to cut payroll, which did not end up happening as they invested in other areas of the roster, especially the starting rotation by bringing in Merrill Kelly, Michael Soroka and most recently Zac Gallen.
There is a little room under the luxury tax to continue addressing the area if an opportunity arises, either now or later this season.
Who is even going to be in the Diamondbacks’ bullpen?
The veterans of the group are Ginkel, Thompson, Sewald and Clarke, so there’s half of the bullpen.
If one non-roster invitee makes the team, such as Loaisiga, that’s five.
The starting rotation has six pitchers with the return of Gallen, but the D-backs don’t want a six-man rotation. Let’s throw Soroka in the bullpen for now, which is far from a done deal, but he pitched in relief late last season so there’s familiarity.
That leaves two spots for the younger pitchers Arizona has brought in, along with those who have been with the organization: Drey Jameson, Philip Abner, Yilber Diaz, Juan Morillo and NRIs Taylor Rashi, Bryce Jarvis and John Curtiss.
Strowd may have an upper hand after the D-backs dealt Blaze Alexander for him this winter, and if that’s the case, there might be one spot left. Those are seven righties, leaving Garcia and Abner as left-handed possibilities for the final spot or spots. Or the D-backs could bring in another southpaw externally.
Jameson has been a curiosity since he looked electric coming into the league in 2022 but has since dealt with injuries, while Morillo was a diamond in the rough minor league signing last year who ended up third on the team in appearances as a rookie.
Thompson described the bullpen as “depthy.” There will be a lot of competition in camp for limited spots with young arms who have minor league options for flexibility.
“I think we’re gonna start the season with a bunch of guys in Triple-A who could be big leaguers on other teams,” Thompson said. “We had a lot of guys perform at some of the hugest spots. It’s gonna be exciting to see who earns jobs out of camp and how Torey and Hazen decide to structure the bullpen because I believe there’s a lot of flexibility.”
The D-backs can ride the hot hand, essentially, and should have more answers to avoid the waiver wire dance they went through last year.
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