The St. Louis Cardinals have made a move to acquire premium set up men Steve Cishek from the Miami Marlins in exchange for minor leaguer Kyle Barraclough. Clark Spencer from the Miami Herald was the first to report the trade.
The Cardinals are preparing to carry the remaining 6.65 million left on Cishek’s contract this year. Chisek, 29, currently has a 4.50 ERA in 32 innings with Miami could be benefit from a change of scenery. Despite losing his closing job earlier this year to A.J. Ramos, Cishek has proven to be reliable in the past racking up 91 saves with a 2.70 ERA from 2011-2014.
The trade for the right handed side armer should come as little surprise as the Cardinals have been prone to make such moves in the past such as dealing for Edward Mujica in 2012 and John Axford in 2013. This trade may come as a bit of a retaliation feeling they needed to make an upgrade after Pittsburgh added Aramis Ramirez yesterday. The trade for Cishek is likely a low risk move as Kyle Barraclough is currently in AA at the age of 25 while currently ranking outside the organizations top 30 prospects.
The trade for the Marlins likely signals a flurry of more moves that are sure to come. Starting pitchers Matt Latos, Dan Haren, and Tom Koehler are also likely to be headed elsewhere before the July 31st deadline. Giancarlo Stanton,Jose Fernandez, Dee Gordon, and Christian Yelich are likely the only Marlin untouchables on the roster.
