Help is on the way for the Mets’ struggling relief group.
The Amazons traded their second reliever in a month Friday in their game against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field, sending minor league outfielder Rhylan Thomas to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for right-hander Ryne Stanek. A corresponding 40-player trade has not yet been completed.
The former Seattle relief pitcher, who turned 33 on Friday, is 6-3 with a 4.38 ERA in 46 relief appearances this season (39 innings) with seven saves in 11 chances and 15 strikeouts. With a sluggish bullpen, Stanek’s 98 MPH fastball is a welcome addition. He also throws a splitter and slider, both of which are very mobile.
However, Stanek has some issues with free passes, with 3.92 walks per nine innings. The Mets are willing to live with that for a strikeout rate of 10.15 per nine innings. Stanek has faced 14 inherited runners this season and has allowed six of them to score (43%).
An eight-year veteran, Stanek was a key part of the Houston Astros’ AL pennant-winning team in 2021 and won a World Series with Houston in 2022. He has a 2.70 ERA in 20 innings with the Astros and Braves.
A native of the Kansas City area (Stilwell, Kansas), Stanek played college baseball at the University of Arkansas and was drafted in the first round by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2013. Stanek will be a free agent this winter when his one-year, $4 million contract expires.
The Mets are in dire need of replacement help after losing power forwards Drew Smith and Brooks Raley for the season. Additionally, right-handers Sean Reid-Foley, Reed Garrett and Dedniel Nuñez are also on the injured list, with Nuñez going on the injured list Friday (retroactive to Wednesday).
The bullpen has been the team’s Achilles heel this season. The Mets have lost 11 games while leading after seven innings and six while leading after eight. They are 9-5 when tied after seven innings and 6-4 when tied after eight innings. Veterans Adam Ottavino and Jake Diekman have struggled, and the club cut long-termer Adrian Houser on Friday. The Mets’ bullpen’s 4.04 ERA this season ranks 17th in the league.
Thomas, a 24-year-old Los Angeles native who was drafted out of USC in 2022, has been buried on the depth chart. That’s a small price to pay for a new setup man. The Mets already acquired Stanek’s former Astros teammate, right-handed reliever Phil Maton, and will look to acquire another reliever before Tuesday’s trade deadline.
