Last night, the Tampa Bay Rays announced plans to select the contract of relief pitcher Erasmo Ramirez to their active roster. He’s set to join the team today as they prepare for a three-game series against the Mariners. The Rays already have a spot on their 40-man roster for Ramirez, so a corresponding move to their active roster will have to be made.
Ramirez, 34, is one of very few MLB players to have been born in Nicaragua. He signed with the Seattle Mariners as a free agent out of Nicaragua back in 2007. He made his MLB Debut with them in 2012 and pitched in Seattle until 2014. He was primarily used as a starting pitcher during that time, and he also threw a few games out of the bullpen for the Mariners.
He would be traded to the Rays before the 2015 season, where Ramirez would make the most starts in his career. In 34 appearances, with 27 being starts, he compiled a record of 11-6, posting a 3.75 ERA, striking out 126 in 163.1 innings of work. Ramirez would spend the next two seasons with the Rays before being flipped back to the Mariners in 2017.
Ramirez also stayed with the Mariners in 2018, only starting ten games that season, finishing the year with a 2-4 record and an ERA of 6.50.
From 2019 to 2021, Ramirez played with the Red Sox, Mets, and Tigers. In those three years, he recorded a 1-1 record, one save, 44 innings pitched, and 30 strikeouts in 24 games out of the bullpen.
After he was released by the Tigers in 2021, Ramirez signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals. Ramirez became a workhorse in the Nats bullpen, pitching in 60 games with a 4-2 record, posting a 2.92 ERA, and logging 86.1 innings while striking out 61 batters, only walking 14. Ramirez would rejoin the Nationals for the 2023 season, but after struggling in 23 games that year, he would get released. He signed with the Tampa Bay Rays a few weeks after his release.
Finishing the year out with the Rays, they would re-sign him for the 2024 season. Ramirez has thrown in 11 games so far this year with the Rays, where he’s 3-0, with a 4.50 ERA, striking out nine batters throughout 16 innings. Ramirez has pitched strongly in Triple-A Durham, holding a 3.02 ERA in 32 games in Durham’s bullpen. We will see if Ramirez will finish out the remainder of the season at the big-league level in his third stint donning a Rays uniform.
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WBN MLB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/mlb/
Photo Credit: Erasmo Ramirez #61 of the Tampa Bay Rays pitches during the fourth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Tropicana Field on August 12, 2023 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
