Paul Sewald

Paul Sewald is a free agent after the Detroit Tigers declined their side of a $10 million mutual option for 2026 on Thursday. Sewald, who exercised his portion of the option, will receive a $1 million buyout.

Fantasy Impact

The 35-year-old reliever was limited to only 19.2 regular-season innings in 2025 due to a shoulder issue, posting a 4.58 ERA and a 20:6 K:BB between stops with the Guardians and Tigers. Although he finished the season healthy, Sewald did not pitch during the wild-card series versus the Guardians and was left off the Tigers' ALDS roster.

Paul Sewald made the Tigers AL Wild Card Series roster.

Fantasy Impact

Sewald will be an option out of the bullpen for Detroit. He was traded to the Tigers at the deadline this year.

The Detroit Tigers activated Paul Sewald from the 60-day injured list on Thursday.

Fantasy Impact

Sewald will be available for Thursday's game against the Cleveland Guardians, marking his long-awaited Detroit Tigers debut. Having not pitched in the major leagues since mid-July, he will likely be eased back into the bullpen in a low-leverage role.

Paul Sewald has returned to Detroit after pitching 0.2 innings in his third rehab outing with Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday.

Fantasy Impact

Sewald, who has been sidelined with a right shoulder strain since July 15, is nearing a return and could be activated as early as Thursday, with the expectation that he will be back by the end of the week.

Paul Sewald is scheduled to throw another rehab outing with Triple-A Toledo this weekend.

Fantasy Impact

In his last rehab outing on Wednesday, Sewald tossed a 1-2-3 inning with his fastball sitting around 90 mph. He is scheduled for another outing over the weekend and will be evaluated afterward for a potential return next week.