Cardinals “looking at” former Marlins closer Steve Cishek

By Drew SilvaJul 22, 2015, 9:14 PM EDT
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Mat Latos and Dan Haren are drawing most of the discussion on the Marlins’ trade block, but Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald notes that right-handed reliever Steve Cishek could also be on the move ahead of the July 31 deadline. And the National League Central-leading Cardinals are interested.

Cishek owns a rough-looking 4.65 ERA and 1.65 WHIP in 31 total innings this season and he was stripped of closer duties in May, but the 29-year-old has registered a promising 0.77 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 11 2/3 frames since returning June 12 from a short demotion to Double-A Jacksonville.

Cishek, who saved 39 games for the Marlins in 2014 and 34 in 2013, is making $6.65 million this year in his second turn through salary arbitration. He carries two more seasons of arbitration eligibility.

Pirates hire Ben Cherington as their new general manager

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By Craig CalcaterraNov 15, 2019, 1:39 PM EST
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The Pittsburgh Pirates have hired Ben Cherington as the team’s new general manager. They do so after the general manager meetings ended, but better late than never.

Cherington served as GM of the Boston Red Sox for four years, winning the World Series in 2013, but resigned during the 2015 season after Dave Dombrowski was named Boston’s new president of baseball operations. Which was a defacto demotionn for Cherington who, until then, had the final say in baseball decisions. Dombrowski, of course, was fired late in the season this year. Cherington went on to work for the Toronto Blue Jays as a vice president, but was seen as biding his time for another GM position. Now he has one.

Cherington takes over in Pittsburgh for executive vice president and general manager Neal Huntington, who was fired after a 12 years at the helm. Also fired was team president Frank Coonelly. Travis Williams replaced Coonelly recently. While the Pirates experienced a few years of contention under Huntington and Coonelly, they have slid out of contention in recent years as the club has traded away promising players for little return, all while cutting payroll. There’s a very big rebuilding job ahead of Cherington.

The first move he’ll have to make: hire a manager, as the team still hasn’t replaced Clint Hurdle since he was dismissed in the final weekend of the regular season.