Mariners Place Steve Cishek On DL With Hip Labrum Tear

5:38pm: Cishek says that it’s actually only a small tear that won’t require surgery, so he may be back after the 15-day minimum, as Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweets.

4:58pm: The Mariners announced a series of roster moves today that will shake up the team’s pitching mix. In particular, just-deposed closer Steve Cishek has been placed on the DL with a left hip labrum tear.

Just acquired lefty Ariel Miranda and righty Blake Parker are joining the major league roster. Righty Donn Roach was optioned to open one active roster spot, with Mayckol Guaipe released to free up a slot on the 40-man.

[Related: Updated Mariners Depth Chart]

Cishek signed with Seattle for two years and $10MM over the winter. He has been solid, posting a 3.40 ERA with 11.7 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in his 47 2/3 innings, though he recently lost the closer’s gig after some shaky outings. Cishek did manage to trigger a $500K bonus by recording over 35 games finished before that point, though he’ll miss out on a chance to earn yet more cash through that portion of his contract.

It’s not yet clear what kind of outlook there is for Cishek’s injury, but it certainly sounds like a season-ending type of injury (though it’s not yet clear if surgery is required). Pitchers who have had the ailment in recent years include Tim Lincecum and Michael Pineda; Dan Wade of the Hardball Times provides ample detail on the subject. Seattle will certainly hope that Cishek isn’t out that long, particularly since he’s still under contract for another campaign.

The 25-year-old Guaipe has thrown 34 frames for the big league team over the last two years, but the results haven’t been great. He owns a 5.29 ERA in that span, allowing 42 hits and 17 walks while recording 27 strikeouts. Guaipe has shown well in the upper minors, though, with a 2.87 ERA and 7.1 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 over 59 2/3 Triple-A frames since the start of 2015.