Cardinals bolster bullpen by trading for ex-Marlins closer Steve Cishek
The St. Louis Cardinals, seeking bullpen help, have acquired ex-closer Steve Cishek from the Miami Marlins in a buy-low deal that could pay nice dividends for the Cards.
The trade was first reported by Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald and later verified by the Marlins. The Marlins are getting Double-A pitcher Kyle Barraclough in return for Cishek, who won’t be a free agent until 2018.
The Cardinals are betting on the fact that they can turn around Cishek and it’s not a crazy idea. He’s struggled in 2015, losing his closer’s job and posting a career-high (by a lot) 4.50 ERA. But he saved 39 games with a 3.17 ERA in 2014 and was even better the previous year, finishing a league-high 62 games with 34 saves and a 2.33 ERA.
The Marlins moved Cishek out of the closer role this season after his early struggles and into a late-inning role, where he has improved, as our pal Jeff Passan points out:
It’s hard to look at Cishek, with his side-arm delivery and that last name and not think of Pat Neshek, who was an All-Star reliever last year for the Cardinals with a 1.87 ERA in 71 appearances. He signed with the Houston Astros as a free agent before this season, which is among the reasons the Cardinals would be happy to bolster their bullpen for the postseason.
If Cishek’s side-arm is anywhere close to as good as Neshek’s, this will be a great trade for the Cardinals.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
