His name is Steve Cishek. It’s pronounced See-shek…like Neshek.
And the new St. Louis reliever could be filling a very similar role to that of the former Cardinals pitcher with a similar sounding last name.
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“You look at this club and how we’re put together right now and clearly, there’s things that we could do to improve and one of the things we felt we could focus on was the bullpen,” explained General Manager John Mozeliak on the deal which brought Cishek to the Cardinals from Miami in exchange for Double-A pitcher Kyle Barraclough.
After spending some time in Double-A himself earlier in the season, Cishek has rebounded to post a 0.71 ERA in 13 appearances (12.1 IP) with 11 strikeouts with the Marlins since June 14th.
“When you look at what Steven brings and how he pitches, it just seems like it would be the right balance for what we’re trying to do,” continued Mozeliak. “You look at his last month and he’s had a lot of success. I just feel like the look and what he’s capable of doing will really help us out.”
In 2014, Cishek had 39 saves in 2014 for the Marlins after recording 34 in 2013 and has appeared in at least 60 games in each of the last three seasons.
“The reason you have confidence in that deal is because he can go 7th, 8th, or 9th,” said Mozeliak of the role Cishek can be used. “When you think about currently how we’re winning games and how much pressure we’re putting on those relievers, just giving somebody a break just makes sense.”
Besides the talent on the mound, Randy Choate–who was teammates with Cishek in 2011-12 with Miami, says the Cardinals are also picking up a strong addition to the clubhouse.
“A really good person…he’s a hard-worker, he’ll do anything for the team,” commented Choate, who had already texted with him. “He said he’s super-excited and I told him to get ready for some playoff baseball.”
photo credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Im beyond excited to be a Cardinal. Such a great organization with an amazing history. It's going to be an honor to wear Cardinal red!
— Steve Cishek (@srSHREK31) July 24, 2015
