Jerry Dipoto began tying up loose ends when they signed Steve Cishek to become their closer. He will earn a base salary of 10 million dollars over the next two years with the possibility of earning an additional 3.5 million in incentives. The Mariners have already indicated that Cishek will serve as the team’s closer and Joaquin Benoit will serve as the team’s setup man.

Why the Mariners make this move

This one is pretty easy. Dipoto has been spending most of the offseason dealing from his relative strength all winter to account for weaknesses on the rest of the team. Tom Wilhelmsen was dealt for center fielder Leonys Martin and then Carson Smith went in the Wade Miley deal. So, Dipoto felt he had to go back and add some more depth to the bullpen through free agency. You could argue that the Mariners are back to where they started before they started the offseason.

Of course, the question for Mariners fans is whether Cishek will end up being effective as their closer. After all, he had lost his job in Miami before being dealt to the Cardinals last season. Naturally, he continued to work in middle relief for the Cardinals but experienced a lot more success. If we take a look at his innings pitched, ERA totals, and BABIP (batting average on balls in play) in his career, we can see that the performance hasn’t really changed all that much.

• 2011: 54.2 INN, 2.63 ERA, .297 BABIP
• 2012: 63.2 INN, 2.69 ERA, .307 BABIP
• 2013: 69.2 INN, 2.33 ERA, .282 BABIP
• 2014: 65.1 INN, 3.17 ERA, .342 BABIP
• 2015MIA: 32.0 INN, 4.50 ERA, .354 BABIP
• 2015STL: 23.1 INN, 2.31 ERA, .254 BABIP

It wasn’t that Steve Cishek was a different pitcher in St. Louis but that he had a different defense behind him. Oddly enough, the numbers from 2014 reflect this as well. It is true that his strikeout rate did drop in 2015, but he is still striking out more hitters than the league average. The bigger key will be getting his walk rate down to a manageable level, but overall the numbers look pretty good since he became a full-time reliever.

What this move means for you

I’ve said it before but it bears repeating. The closer fraternity isn’t taking additional members. It simply shuffles them around the board in a big game of musical chairs. Steve Cishek will take Joaquin Benoit’s spot for now. Oddly enough, Benoit only had the position on paper since he came in from San Diego as their setup guy. Benoit does have closing experience, so Cishek is not necessarily as secure as he could be. One of the bigger questions when you get down to the third closer on your team is whether you are better off drafting a shaky closer or a really strong setup guy. Sometimes, you are better off going with the setup guy. If you are able, you can draft both and cover your bases.