Ryne Stanek, who was a very important element during the Mets postseason, has agreed to a one-year contract, a source confirmed.
The deal is pending a physical and is worth $4.5 million with incentives that can increase it to $5 million, according to MLB.com.
The right-handed reliever is projected to complement left-hander A.J. Minter, both as bridges to closer Edwin Diaz. The Mets’ bullpen will also include Reed Garrett, Dedniel Nunez, Sean Reid-Foley, Danny Young and perhaps Jose Butto, among other possibilities.
The group was rated as the 13th most valuable bullpen in the majors last season, according to FanGraphs’ estimate, and at least on paper it appears to have taken a step forward.
Stanek arrived in a midseason trade with the Mariners and struggled to finish the regular season, posting a 6.06 ERA in 17 games.
However, he was excellent in the postseason, allowing three runs in eight innings that included a marathon seven-out outing in a Game 5 National League Championship Series victory over the Dodgers.
Ryne Stanek is a fireballer
The Mets’ 2025 bullpen, which has many pitchers from Huascar Brazoban to Tyler Zuber and Dylan Covey, could have used more certainty and hopes to have found some in the 33-year-old.
Stanek is an eight-year veteran with a reputation for big moments, with a career 2.89 ERA in 28 postseason innings.
During the regular season, he has been a reliable pitcher (his 249 relief appearances since 2021 are the 15th most in baseball), although he has been easier to hit in the last two seasons, in which he has posted a combined 4.50 ERA with the Astros, Mariners and Mets.
However, Stanek has continued to flummox hitters, particularly with an above-average splitter and slider and a fastball that climbs into the 90s.
After the Dodgers eliminated the Mets in the National League Championship Series, Stanek said he would remember the locker room of “really good people” he got along with. Now he’ll get a chance to run again in Queens.
“It was a really special group,” Stanek said after Game 6. “It was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed everyone here. It was hard because New York is obviously not the easiest place to get comfortable and get used to, and I got traded here in the middle of the season, moved my family across the country, and everyone from the staff to the players and the sports staff, everyone was super welcoming and made the transition incredibly easy.”
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