The Seattle Mariners bolstered their bullpen Saturday by signing former Miami Marlins closer Steve Cishek to a two-year contract.
ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick, who was the first to report the deal, also reported that the M’s intend to make Cishek their closer. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports later confirmed the move.
Passan reported Cishek signed a two-year contract worth $10 million, adding that if Cishek sticks as a closer, incentives could take it to $17 million.
The 29-year-old righty spent parts of his first six seasons with the Marlins before they dealt him to the St. Louis Cardinals in the middle of the 2015 campaign. He was solid down the stretch for the Cards with a 2.31 ERA in 23.1 innings.
Cishek‘s most notable contributions came in 2013 and 2014 when he saved a total of 73 games in Miami. He has a 2.82 ERA and 95 saves over the course of his career.
The side-winding reliever lost his job as a closer after a rough start last season, but the Mariners are apparently ready to give him another shot in that role.
Despite Cishek‘s struggles in Miami in 2015, it didn’t take long for teams to express interest in him, according to MLB Network Radio:
Seattle cycled through a number of different closers last season, with Fernando Rodney, Carson Smith and Tom Wilhelmsen all getting extended looks; however, they all had their struggles in that position. None of the aforementioned relievers are currently on the roster, but the Mariners did acquire Joaquin Benoit in a trade last month, which means they completely reshaped the back end of their bullpen.
While it does seem as though Seattle has upgraded, Jesse Spector of Sporting News was quick to point out that the M’s don’t compare to some of the elite eighth-ninth combos that currently reside in the American League:
If nothing else, the Mariners now have some semblance of certainty in the latter stages of games, as both Cishek and Benoit have excelled in their current roles in the past.
There is no question that Seattle is taking a chance based on what happened to Cishek as a closer last season, but it’s a move that could pay dividends since most AL hitters aren’t used to his unorthodox pitching style.
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