January 9: The Cardinals have agreed to terms with the free agent reliever Ryne Stanekreports Robert Murray of FanSided. Chris Cotillo of MassLive first reported that St. Louis was chasing the hard-throwing righty. The Cardinals will need to open a 40-man roster spot once the MVP Sports Group client completes a physical.
Stanek is getting a change of scenery after a year and a half with the Mets. New York acquired him from the Mariners at the 2024 trade deadline. While he allowed 11 runs in 16 1/3 regular season innings, Stanek’s plus strikeout rate and strong postseason work led the Mets to bring him back on a $4.5 million free agent deal.
That didn’t work, as the 34-year-old had an up and down season. Stanek had strong prevention numbers in May and July, but was toppled in the remaining four months. He finished with an average of 5.30 over 56 innings. The ERA estimators were only slightly more optimistic as Stanek’s strikeout and walk went in the wrong direction.
A strikeout rate of 22.7% was narrowly the lowest of his nine-year career. Stanek had sparked nearly 28% of opponents a season earlier. It’s crucial that he misses bats, as command has never been a strong point. Stanek has walked at least 10% of batters he faced in the past year, including a 12.5% mark last season.
The Cardinals are making a cheap bet that he will strike out more batters in 2026. Stanek still has the means to do that. He averaged 98.5 MPH on his heater, a top 15 mark in the MLB. He backs that up with a plus slider and mixes in a splitter and sweeper as his third and fourth offerings. Stanek still missed bats at a slightly above-average rate per pitch.
St. Louis doesn’t have many veteran late-inning weapons. Southpaw JoJo Romero had been their only reliever with even two years of MLB service. There’s a good chance he’ll be traded before opening day. The Cardinals were looking for an experienced arm who can throw in the back half of the bullpen. Stanek fits best in the mid-range, but could be in the high-leverage mix, perhaps even as a closer, at a rebuilding club. He’s a familiar commodity to president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom, who was in the Rays’ front office when Tampa Bay drafted him in the first round in 2013.
There is also a geographical connection. Stanek was born in St. Louis and attended high school not far outside Missouri in Stilwell, Kansas. There’s a decent chance he could be traded midseason if he pitches well, but he’ll get a chance to play for his hometown club for at least a few months.
Image courtesy of Gregory Fisher, Imagn Images.
#Cardinals #sign #Ryne #Stanek