The Mets continued to upgrade their roster are around the margins last week, bringing back Ryne Stanek on a one-year, $4.5 million deal. Stanek is the latest in a series of low-to-mid-market moves in the wake of the Mets’ seemingly backing off of the top names on the market (e.g., Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso). He’ll slot back into a setup role similar to that he held during the Mets postseason run in 2024.
Stanek was originally drafted by the Rays in 2013 and made the majors in 2017 as a reliever. In 2018 and 2019, he was perhaps one of the best poster child for the Rays’ use of openers, starting 56 games across two seasons while throwing only 136.