Arizona Diamondbacks News 5/12: Sewald Doesn’t Let Seager Beat Him

“We want to bang the baseball around and score a lot of runs,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “But when you’re in [a close situation] and the pitchers step up the way they did, it was a fantastic effort. It started with Soroka. He did a really nice job — low pitch count, temptation to leave him in the game, and I felt like the bullpen was ready for those matchups, and it worked out really well for us.”

Diamondbacks News

“I belong at the highest level”: The elite mindset of the D-backs Ryan Waldschmidt [Arizona Sports] View Link Diamondbacks add another Perdomo to their minor league system by Nick Piecoro [AZ Central]

Ten years ago, Geraldo Perdomo signed with the Diamondbacks for $70,000 as a 16-year-old amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic. He was not a big prospect, but he showed enough promise to move steadily through the system and ultimately reach the majors.

Perdomo is hoping another family member can follow a similar path.

Last week, the Diamondbacks signed 17-year-old outfielder Nicola Perdomo for a bonus of $47,500. He has a good approach, raw power and a strong arm. He is Geraldo’s younger brother, and he likely will begin his professional career this year in the Dominican Summer League. D-backs Closer Paul Sewald Says He Didn’t Hit Corey Seager On Purpose by Alex D’Agostino [SI] “It was a total accident,” Sewald said earnestly. “Hopefully his foot’s okay. … it’s one of those things.”

Sewald did, also acknowledge the moment, the context, and the environment of the matchup.

“It’s fine in the regular season, postseason, not so great, obviously, especially here,” he said with a bit of a laugh. “The biggest thing was that I got the first two guys to try to make it a little bit easier.”

Around the League

1st Rookie of the Year poll shows clear favorites, but plenty of competition by Jason Foster [MLB]

*Others receiving votes: Foster Griffin (one first-place vote), Nationals; Carson Benge, Mets; Owen Caissie, Marlins; Bubba Chandler, Pirates; Joe Mack, Marlins; **Jose Fernandez, D-backs**; Nathan Church, Cardinals; TJ Rumfield, Rockies* {Ed. Note: emphasis mine} Five way-too-early 2026-27 free agency questions by Kiley McDaniel [ESPN] **How will the potential work stoppage affect free agency?**

Though we don’t know for sure, we can use the last collective bargaining agreement negotiations and subsequent lockout as a guide. Teams looking to devote big money to making upgrades generally want to do so before the current CBA expires Dec. 1, both to avoid waiting for key additions and as a pre-negotiation signal of healthy spending on players. (The Texas Rangers splurging on Corey Seager and Marcus Semien for a combined $500 million just hours before the Dec. 1, 2021, deadline was notable from that pre-lockout period.)

The assumption is that a lockout will happen again. That naturally leads to two questions: Which teams are eager enough to spend to sign big-ticket players before Dec. 1? And which players are important enough to get the offers they’d want to sign before the CBA expires? Before his injury, Skubal was the top free agent, but now his market might be muddier, which could lead to his camp opting to wait a bit. There might not be another slam dunk nine-figure player, with Freddy Peralta and Jazz Chisholm Jr. having the strongest cases at the moment among the other pending free agents. Giants Trade Patrick Bailey to Guardians as Buster Posey Shakes Things Up Again by Jay Jaffe [FanGraphs] This is the second season in a row that president of baseball operations Buster Posey has shaken up San Francisco’s roster with an early-season trade; last year, it was the mid-June acquisition of slugger Rafael Devers in a blockbuster with Boston. You don’t have to squint too hard to accept that both trades were aimed at upgrading moribund offenses, but when the Giants dealt for Devers, they were 11 games above .500 (41-30), one game behind the Dodgers in the NL West. They felt they’d landed the offensive cornerstone that had eluded them after unsuccessful pursuits of Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, a player who could help them return to the postseason for the first time since 2021. This time around, they entered the day of the trade 15-23, last in the division, and the move appears far more tilted toward the future, as Wilkinson has just gotten his feet wet in Double-A and the draft pick won’t make an immediate impact.

If this trade had occurred just prior to the deadline (August 3 this year), it might have been characterized as a white flag, part of a larger selloff. To these eyes, it’s a shakeup that at worst smacks of panic and at best places a lot of faith that Posey — a likely Hall of Fame catcher who has yet to show similar prowess as an executive — has found a diamond or two in the rough with his two recent catching acquisitions: Jesus Rodriguez, who came from the Yankees in last year’s Camilo Doval trade, and Daniel Susac, who was flipped by the Twins in December after being plucked from the A’s as a Rule 5 pick. Both are 24 years old and have fewer than 10 games of major league experience, with Susac, who turns 25 on May 14, currently on a rehab assignment after being sidelined by neuritis in his right elbow. Eric Haase, a 33-year-old backstop who hit his way out of a starting job in Detroit in 2023, started in Saturday’s 13-3 drubbing by the Pirates — San Francisco’s ninth loss in 11 games — while Rodriguez started Sunday’s 7-6 win, which lifted the team’s record to 16-24, still third worst in the NL. Rangers Notes: Eovaldi, Latz, and Smith by Anthony Franco [MLB Trade Rumors] he Rangers are sending **Nathan Eovaldi** for imaging after the veteran starter reported left side tightness, manager Skip Schumaker told reporters (including Kennedi Landry of MLB.com). Texas scratched Eovaldi from his scheduled start tonight in Arizona. **Jakob Junis** got the first couple innings of an impromptu bullpen game.

Schumaker’s bullpen should be well rested. The Rangers are coming off consecutive shutouts of what had been a hot Cubs lineup. They used three relievers after **Jack Leiter** on Saturday, but only **Gavin Collyer** tossed more than 13 pitches. **Jacob Latz** was their only reliever yesterday, tossing 20 pitches over two scoreless innings behind a masterful start from **Jacob deGrom** (seven scoreless with 10 strikeouts).