Erasmo Ramirez (ramirer02)

From BR Bullpen

Erasmo Jose Ramirez Olivera

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 6' 0", Weight 217 lb.

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Biographical Information[edit]

Erasmo Ramirez made it to the majors at age 21.

Ramirez signed with the Seattle Mariners in September 2007; the scouts were Ubaldo Heredia and Bob Engel. He made his pro debut with the 2008 VSL Mariners, going 4-1 with a 2.86 ERA and walking only 9 in 63 innings. Back with the same club the next summer, he dominated the Venezuelan Summer League, going 11-1 with a 0.51 ERA. He fanned 80 and walked 5 in 88 innings while allowing a .174 average. He was named the VSL Most Valuable Pitcher and the Mariners Minor League Pitcher of the Year (an impressive feat for someone in a rookie league). He led the VSL in wins, ERA, strikeouts and innings for a pitching Triple Crown.

In 2010, he made it stateside with the Clinton Lumber Kings and went 10-4 with a save and a 2.97 ERA, walking only 21 in 151 2/3 IP. He was among the Midwest League leaders in wins (5th), innings (3rd) and ERA (5th). He made the MWL All-Star team as the right-handed starting pitcher. Baseball America rated him as having the best control in the MWL though they did not rank him as one of the league's top 20 prospects.

The Rivas native split 2011 between the Jackson Generals (7-6, 4.73) and Tacoma Rainiers (3-2, 5.10), continuing to show fine control (34 walks in 153 2/3 IP) but proving more hittable than in the past (.290 opponent average). He still led the Seattle farm chain in victories. He was 2-1 with a 1.48 ERA for the Cardenales de Lara in the Venezuelan League that winter, only walking one batter in 30 1/3 innings. He was named the Nicaragua Athlete of the Year for 2011 by the Instituto Nacional de Deportes.

After a strong spring training, Ramirez made the 2012 Mariners' Opening Day roster. He was the second major leaguer named Erasmo - after another Erasmo Ramirez oddly enough. He was also the 12th Nicaraguan major leaguer and the 9th Nicaraguan major league pitcher. In his big league debut, he relieved Hector Noesi with a 7-5 deficit in the 4th inning of a slugfest with the Rangers. He retired Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus but then served up a home run to Josh Hamilton. He allowed no further runs in 2 1/3 innings, fanning 3, before Steve Delabar relieved Ramirez. He pitched 16 times for the Mariners that year, including 8 starts, going 1-3, 3.36. He allowed only 47 hits in 59 innings.

After the season, he pitched for the Nicaraguan national team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers. He lost to Sugar Ray Marimón and Colombia, allowing five runs (four earned) in 1 2/3 IP. In 2013, he was used almost exclusively as a starter - 13 times in 14 appearances - and went 5-3, 4.98. His workload increased to 72 1/3 innings, but his hit rate increased significantly, with 79 allowed. His ERA increased again in 2014, this time to 5.26 in 17 games (14 starts), as he allowed 82 hits in 75 1/3 innings. His record fell to 1-6. He also made appearances in the minor leagues all three season.

Erasmo had a poor spring training in 2015 and was unable to make the opening day roster on an improving team, with his ERA at 6.23 in 5 spring outings. Out of minor league options, the Mariners risked losing him if they sent him outright to AAA, and decided instead to trade him to the Tampa Bay Rays on March 31st, receiving minor league lefty Mike Montgomery in return. He was hit very hard in his first couple of appearances for Tampa Bay, however. On April 10th, he gave up 7 earned tuns in 2 innings in a relief appearance against the Miami Marlins, then on the 15th, the Blue Jays roughed him for another 7 earned runs in 3 1/3 innings as he suffered his first loss in his first start of the year. His ERA stood at 23.63 after those two games. After a stint in the bullpen where the Rays staff helped him straighten out his mechanics, he began to turn things around on May 14th, when he pitched 5 scoreless innings in defeating the New York Yankees, 6-1, for his first win of the year. Thus began a stretch of 6 wins in 7 starts during which he lowered his ERA from 8.38 to 4.45 on June 15th. On September 14th against the Yankees, he pitched seven no-hit innings before Carlos Beltran led off the 8th with a single; the game was still scoreless at the time, and the Rays went ahead, 1-0 in the bottom of the 8th, but Brad Boxberger could not close out the win, giving up four runs in the top of the 9th.

On May 29, 2017, he became the first pitcher to start a game the day after recording a save since 1984. He had pitched the 15th inning of a marathon win over the Minnesota Twins the previous day, needing only 12 pitches, before making his scheduled start against the Texas Rangers but only lasted 2 1/3 innings. Steve Farr of the Cleveland Indians had been the last pitcher to perform this feat. On July 28th, he was traded back to the Seattle Mariners in return for reliever Steve Cishek. He went a combined 5-6, 4.39 in 37 games that season, including 19 starts, pitching a total of 131 1/3 innings. In 2018, all 10 of his appearances for the Mariners were starts, but they did not go well as he was 2-4, 6.50 and also spent time in the minors.

Starting in 2019, when he made a single major league appearance with the Boston Red Sox, he was basically a reliever. He moved around regularly, making 6 appearances for the New York Mets in 2020 and 17 for the Detroit Tigers in 2021. In 2022 he was back in the majors full time for the first time since 2018 when he made 60 appearances for the Washington Nationals, all but two of them out of the bullpen. He went 4-2, 2.92 in what were his best results in years. 11 years after his prior Nicaraguan national team stint, he was back with them for the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He allowed one run in 3 2/3 IP, going 3 shutout innings and holding a 1-0 lead in a potential upset of Venezuela before Rodney Theophile took over and couldn't hold on. However, he started the season poorly in 2023, as he was 2-3, 6.33 after 23 games for the Nationals. He was handed his release on June 8th but signed a week later with one of his former teams, the Rays, going 1-0, 6.48 in 15 games for them.

He started the 2024 season in the minors but was called up to Tampa on April 20th. On May 16th, he recorded his first save since 2020 and only his fifth overall under unusual circumstances. The Rays had taken a 7-5 lead over the Red Sox in the top of the 9th and closer Jason Adam was on the mound to finish the win when he allowed a couple of baserunners to reach base. That's when pitching coach Kyle Snyder decided to leave the dugout to speak to his pitcher, not realizing that the Rays had used up their final mound visit earlier in the inning. A long delay ensued as home plate umpire Alex Tosi prevented the visit from taking place, then Red Sox manager Alex Cora insisted that Tampa should be forced to replace its pitcher, as called for by the rule. The Rays realized that there was a good chance they would lose that argument and got Erasmo, who was their last available pitcher, to start warming up as quickly as possible. The delay lasted five minutes as the umpires called MLB headquarters in New York for a rules check, but it turned out that Cora was right and Adam had to leave, but that had been enough time to get Ramirez ready. He came in to face Romy Gonzalez, but got him to hit a tapper back to the mound which he fielded cleanly; he tossed the ball to first base to end the game.

Sources[edit]

Further Reading[edit]

  • Adam Berry: "Mound-visit miscue doesn't faze Rays in frantic finish at Fenway", mlb.com, May 17, 2024. [1]

Related Sites[edit]

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