PHOENIX — Former University of Hawaii baseball standouts Kolten Wong and Josh Rojas are now teammates in the majors.
The Arizona Diamondbacks solidified the back of their bullpen ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline, acquiring closer Paul Sewald from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for infielder Rojas, outfielder Dominic Canzone and minor leaguer Ryan Bliss.
The teams announced the deal on Monday.
Rojas, with the Diamondbacks, and Wong, with the Mariners, have both struggled this season.
Rojas, who had a three-homer game last season, was sent down to Triple-A in June to jump-start his sagging offense; he’s batting .228 with no home runs and 26 RBIs.
Wong has seen his production dip sharply after getting dealt by the Milwaukee Brewers in the offseason. The veteran second baseman is batting a career-low .165 with two home runs and 19 RBIs.
Rojas — a Phoenix-area native — was a mainstay for the Diamondbacks in 2021 and 2022. He's got a .252 career batting average and 22 homers. A change of scenery might be good for the versatile player, who has spent time at third base, second base, shortstop and even the outfield, but admitted it was tough to leave home.
“It's been an awesome experience being able to play at home, in front of my friends and family,” Rojas said. “So that's definitely going to be missed.”
Rojas, 29, and Wong, 32, did not overlap at UH. Wong played from 2009 to 2011, when he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals following his standout junior season. Rojas played two years at UH after arriving in Manoa as a junior college transfer for the 2016 season.
The D-backs and Mariners just completed a three-game series at Chase Field, with Seattle winning two of the three games.
Seattle, at 54-51, has hovered near .500 all season. It is in fourth place in the AL West, 5.5 games behind Texas before Monday’s game against Boston.
The D-backs opted to be buyers at the trade deadline despite a 7-16 record in July that's caused their overall record to slide to 56-50. They started Monday four games behind the Dodgers in the NL West and one game back from the final spot of a crowded NL wild-card race.
Sewald was a mainstay at the back of Seattle’s bullpen for the past three seasons.
He has a career-high 21 saves this season in 45 appearances, after recording 20 saves in 2022 and 11 in 2021. In his three seasons with Seattle, Sewald has an 18-8 record and 2.88 ERA in 172 games.
“Gonna miss this place," Sewald said. "It was an amazing three years and changed my life, changed my career — personally, professionally. I owe a lot to the people here and feel like I gave them everything I had for three years and it’s going to be tough.
“But the Diamondbacks traded for me, which meant they wanted me more and I’m excited to get to Arizona and do what I can.”