Cishek retires after pitching for Nats in 13th MLB season

In an alternate universe, Steve Cishek would’ve been a consistently effective setup man for the Nationals last season, effective enough to draw interest from other clubs over the summer and spend the rest of the year pitching for a contender while the Nats got a prospect or two in return.

It didn’t happen that way, of course. Cishek, while effective at times, was wildly inconsistent and never fully locked down the late-inning role the Nationals envisioned when they signed him for $1.75 million. There was no serious trade interest, so the right-hander stuck around through the end of what turned out to be his final big league season.

Cishek revealed over the weekend he’s retiring, telling The Bourne Enterprise in his hometown of Falmouth, Mass., he’s ready to call it a career after 13 major league seasons.

“It’s time,” Cishek told the paper. “It’s gotten harder for me to bounce back game-to-game. The ball wasn’t coming out as crisp as before, and it felt like I had to pitch differently. I know I’ll get the bug and want to get back out there, but I don’t think I’m pulling a Tom Brady.”

Cishek, 36, was one of the sport’s most consistent and durable relievers over a lengthy career spent pitching for eight different organizations. He finished with a strong 2.98 ERA and 1.200 WHIP, making 737 big league appearances, earning a save in 133 of them.

A fifth-round pick of the Marlins in 2007, Cishek spent six years in Miami, then later pitched for the Cardinals, Mariners, Rays, Cubs, White Sox and Angels before coming to D.C.

He averaged 63 appearances since becoming a full-time reliever with the Marlins in 2012, and that includes the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign in which he pitched in 22 of the White Sox’s 60 games.

That shortened season in Chicago also represented Cishek’s only season with an ERA over 3.58 until he arrived in Washington.

The Nationals expected him to pitch to his career norms, and Cishek actually did produce a WHIP (1.221), hit rate (7.3 per nine innings), walk rate (3.7 per nine innings) and strikeout rate (10.0 per nine innings) very much in line with his career standards.

But he was plagued by two major problem areas: Hit-by-pitches and home runs. He plunked a whopping 13 batters in only 66 1/3 innings – that represented a staggering 22 percent of his career total – and he served up 11 homers in that same span, only one shy of most among all major league relievers.

Because of all that, Cishek wound up getting leapfrogged on the bullpen depth chart by the likes of Kyle Finnegan, Carl Edwards Jr. and Hunter Harvey. Thirty-four of his 69 appearances came in the sixth inning or earlier.

Despite his struggles, Cishek remained a popular and trusted member of the Nationals bullpen. Less experienced pitchers regularly turned to him for advice. He never once complained about his role.

His final appearance came on the second-to-last day of the season, when he entered for the bottom of the fifth at Citi Field and the Nats already trailing the Mets 7-0 after Paolo Espino failed to get out of the first inning. He proceeded to retire the side on 16 pitches, striking out James McCann to end the frame, and walked off the mound knowing that would be the end of his professional journey.

“I don’t have anything to complain about,” Cishek told the Enterprise. “I had a good career. I had a lot of fun and got to play with some amazing teammates.”