Seattle Mariners Roster Rumors: Veteran Reliever Steve Cishek Signed to a Two-Year Deal
The Seattle Mariners made it a point this offseason to beef up its lineup, adding several new players and filling in new roles that would make them a serious contender next season. And the team isn't done dealing and signing, recently signing former Marlins closer Steve Cishek for a $10 million contract, good for two years.
The deal hasn't been made official as of this posting, but sources say that the team will officially announce it later tonight. The 29-year-old was seen in Seattle last Thursday until Friday, where he was believed to have taken a physical after reaching a verbal agreement with the Mariners. With the signing, he is slated to make $4 million next season and about $6 million the year after, excluding bonuses and incentives.
Before the news of Cishek's addition to the team, general manager Jerry Dipoto already signified Seattle's intention to add another high-quality reliever from the free agent market. Now it looks like Cishek is that addition Dipoto was talking about. However, he's not the only designated closer in the lineup, expecting to compete with Joaquin Benoit.
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Perhaps the most notable weakness of Cishek is that he's a slow starter. As a matter of fact, he only managed a record of 1-5 with four saves (6.58 ERA) for the first 19 games with the Marlins last season. After getting traded to the Cardinals, he produced 1.75 ERA in 36 innings. However, he deserves credit for being an effective closer in general for his stint with the Marlins, earning 88 saves from 2012 up to 2014, before getting dealt in a midseason trade with the Cardinals.
The right-hander's best year in his major league baseball career so far was in 2014, wherein he was good enough to save 39 games, though he lost his role as closer to A.J. Ramos a year later with a mediocre performance.
