Reports: Rays Trade for Mariners Reliever Steve Cishek

The Rays will send Erasmo Ramirez to Seattle in return.

The Rays have continued their busy week on the trade market, acquiring Mariners reliever Steve Cishek in exchange for swingman Erasmo Ramirez, according to multiple reports. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi first reported a deal was close. 

This is the third trade Tampa has made since Thursday morning. The Rays got reliever Dan Jennings from the White Sox and later first baseman Lucas Duda from the Mets. 

Cishek signed with the Mariners as a free agent before the 2016 season and served as the team’s closer for much of his first season. In 20 innings this season he has a 3.15 ERA and 1.000 WHIP. 

Ramirez was traded from the Mariners to Rays for Mike Montgomery on the eve of the 2015 season. Primarily a starter earlier in his career, the 27-year-old has worked mostly out of the bullpen over the last two years. He has 55 strikeouts and 4.80 ERA in 69 1/3 innings this year. 

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The Rays are currently battling with the Yankees and Red Sox for the AL East title and are right in the thick of the Wild Card race. As of Friday, they are 1 1/2 games behind the Royals for the second Wild Card and three games back of Boston in the division. They have three games left in their four-game set against the Yankees in the Bronx this weekend. New York won Thursday night’s game on a walk-off 11th-inning home run by Brett Gardner to pull within a half game of the Red Sox in the division race.