Who Is New Guardians Pitcher Yohan Ramirez?

Originally posted on FanNation Cleveland Baseball Insider
By Tommy Wild | Last updated 5/17/22

The Guardians get another pitcher! They completed a trade with the Seattle Mariners to acquire Yohan Ramirez in exchange for cash considerations or a player to be named later. Ramirez has been optioned to AAA Columbus since being traded to Cleveland.

So, who is Yohan Ramirez and what can fans expect to see from him?

This season Ramirez has an ERA of 7.56 while appearing in seven games of relief. In those seven games, he has pitched a total of 8.1 innings. The ERA is a little bit higher than you would like to see for a relief pitcher, but Ramirez does have 10 strikeouts in his innings of work.

After struggling to start the year, the Mariners designated Ramirez for assignment on May 13.

Even though his ERA is high this season, Ramirez did have a 2.61 ERA in the shortened 2020 season and had a 3.90 ERA in 2021. This gives him a career ERA of 3.97, which is not horrendous for a relief pitcher.

Ramirez works with two pitches. The first one is a slider which he throws the most at 55.1 percent of the time. His second pitch is a four-seam fastball which is 44.9 percent of his pitches.

The Guardians trading for Ramirez came at the same time the club placed pitcher James Karinchak on the 60-day injured list. Karinchak was a big part of Cleveland’s bullpen last season but has yet to play in 2022.

Pitching is a premium for every team in the MLB and everyone is always looking for more of it. Ramirez has shown flashes of potential in his career mainly in his first two seasons. If the Guardians can tap into the Ramirez that the Mariners got in 2020 and 2021 then he could become a solid piece for the Guardians' bullpen.

This article first appeared on FanNation Cleveland Baseball Insider and was syndicated with permission.

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