A Sharper Slider Elevates Reliever Paul Sewald

Righthander Paul Sewald knew he needed another pitch.

In his quest to show the Mets he was ready for the leap from Triple-A Las Vegas, the 27-year-old reliever spent much the spring showcasing a slider he knew could be an effective weapon against righthanders.

The results had been more than acceptable. By the end of May, Sewald—a former teammate of Kris Bryant’s at San Diego—had not only gotten a shot in the big league bullpen, but he had emerged as one of the team’s most dependable relievers, with a 2.21 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in his first 14 appearances.

Sewald grabbed the Mets’ attention in spring training last year but never made it to New York in 2016. This year he was among the final spring training cuts before being called to the Mets in April.

“Paul, everybody keeps saying has fringe stuff, but he knows how to compete and finds a way to win,” Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen said. “He’s got a sneaky delivery. He crossfires and can locate, so I am very pleased with him and have been since two spring trainings ago when he started an exhibition game in Las Vegas for us. We said, ‘This kid can pitch,’ and felt good about him.”

It only took Sewald, a 10th-round pick in 2012, one strong outing in April to realize he could compete at the highest level.

“That was just enough of a confidence booster,” Sewald said. “I thought, ‘OK, I can go up to the major league level, and I’ll make good pitches and I will get them out. And if I make bad pitches, they are going to hammer mistakes, but they don’t hit every single mistake.’ ”

Sewald credits the improvement of his slider for helping with that confidence.

“The more I throw it, the more success I’ve had, as long as I am locating my fastball,” he said. “For me it’s just been about fastball command early in the count and throwing my slider as a putaway pitch.”

— Mike Puma covers the Mets for the New York Post