Cardinals land ex-closer Cishek from Marlins

The trade deadline winds keep blowing. The Marlins have traded former closer Steve Cishek to the Cardinals, the team has announced. Double-A right-hander Kyle Barraclough is heading to Miami in the swap.

Cishek, 29, has a 4.50 ERA (85 ERA+) with a 1.59 WHIP and 7.9 K/9 in 32 innings this season, which is easily his worst full season as a big leaguer. The right-hander saved 91 games with a 2.70 ERA (145 ERA+), a 1.19 WHIP and 10.0 K/9 from 2011-14. Clearly the Cardinals are hoping for a bounceback.

The 25-year-old Barraclough was St. Louis’ seventh round pick in the 2012 draft. He has a 2.27 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP with 11.6 K/9 in 39 2/3 relief innings this year. He’s also walked too many batters (6.6 BB/9). Baseball America did not rank Barraclough as one of the Cardinals’ 30 best prospects in their 2015 Prospect Handbook.

The Cardinals have a 2.68 ERA as a team this year, by far the best in baseball, and that includes a 2.37 ERA for the bullpen. The team is missing Matt Belisle (elbow) and Jordan Walden (biceps) though, so there was a need for righty relief. Besides, there’s no such thing as too many good relievers, and St. Louis didn’t pay a high price.

Steve Cishek is heading to the Cardinals. (USATSI)

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