The Rays have made it official, trading Erasmo Ramirez back to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for reliever Steve Cishek.
Cishek is the fourth player Tampa Bay has traded for in the last seven days, joining fellow relievers Sergio Romo (acquired Saturday from the Dodgers) and Dan Jennings (Thursday from the White Sox), and first baseman Lucas Duda (Thursday from the New York Mets).
The Rays official release is below
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla . (Tampa Bay Rays Communications) — The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired right-handed relief pitcher Steve Cishek from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for right-handed pitcher Erasmo Ramirez. He will wear No. 33.
In addition, the Rays made a series of roster moves in advance of tonight’s game at New York.The Rays recalled right-handed pitcher Austin Pruitt from Triple-A Durham, added first baseman Lucas Duda (acquired yesterday from the New York Mets) to the active roster and optioned right-handed pitcher Andrew Kittredge to Durham. The Rays will make a corresponding move when Cishek is added to the active roster.
Cishek (SEE-sheck), 31, owns a career 22-27 record, 121 saves and a 2.83 ERA (397-IP, 125-ER) in 396 appearances across eight major league seasons with the Miami Marlins (2010-15), St. Louis Cardinals (2015) and Mariners (2015-17). He has recorded 423 strikeouts against 147 walks, while holding opponents to a .221 batting average. The 6'6", 215-pounder led his club in saves in 2016 (25), 2014 (39) and 2013 (34). A native of Falmouth, Mass., Cishek was originally selected by the Marlins in the fifth round of the 2007 June Draft out of Carson-Newman College (Tenn.).
In 2017, Cishek began the season on the 10-day disabled list while recovering from October 2016 surgery to repair a left hip labrum tear. He was activated on May 15, and in 23 relief appearances since then went 1-1 with one save, a 3.15 ERA (20-IP, 7-ER) and .183 opponents’ batting average (13-for-71). Since allowing 3 runs in his second outing of the season (May 16 vs. Oakland), he has crafted a 1.86 ERA (19.1-IP, 4-ER) over 21 apps.
Cishek is the fourth veteran player the Rays have acquired via trade this week and the sixth acquired over the last six weeks, each with at least six seasons in the major leagues. They previously completed trades for infielder Trevor Plouffe (June 17), shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria (June 26), right-handed pitcher Sergio Romo (July 23), left-handed pitcher Dan Jennings (July 27) and Duda (July 27).
Ramirez, 27, is 4-3 with a 4.80 ERA (69.1-IP, 37-ER) in 26 appearances (8 starts) this season. The Rays acquired him from Seattle on March 31, 2015 for left-handed pitcher Mike Montgomery. In three seasons for the Rays, he went 22-20 with a 3.98 ERA (323.1-IP, 143-ER) in 124 games (36 starts). He ranks fourth all-time among Nicaraguan-born pitchers with 171 career appearances.
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Check out Steve Carney's thoughts on the deal below on DAE Live!
ORIGINAL POST - Erasmo Ramirez may be heading back to his original team.
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com is reporting that the Rays could be working on a deal that would send the pitcher back to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for reliever Steve Cishek.
Tampa Bay and Seattle have made a number of trades over the last few years, the first of which was the one that brought Ramirez to the Rays in 2015 in exchange for reliever Mike Montgomery. Other deals have involved acquiring Brad Miller, Logan Morrison, Mallex Smith and Andrew Kittredge, while sending Nathan Karns, Taylor Motter, Richie Shaffer and Drew Smyly to the Pacific Northwest.
Ramirez, 27, is 4-3 with a 4.80 earned run average in eight starts and 18 relief appearances this season. He has filled in the rotation for both Jake Odorizzi due to injury and Blake Snell due to ineffectiveness. Erasmo still has two years of team control through arbitration.
Cishek, 31, has been a closer for both the Mariners and Miami Marlins, but lost his role as closer last year to Edwin Diaz. He is 1-1 with a 3.15 ERA in 23 relief appearances, with one save in 2017, but had 25 saves with the Mariners in 2016, and notched as many as 39 saves in a season (with Miami in 2014). He is a free agent at the end of the year after signing a two-year, $10 million contract with the Mariners before the 2016 season.
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