The St. Louis Cardinals are taking a flier on a former top-shelf bullpen arm.
Several reporters confirmed Friday that the Cardinals have agreed to a contract with relief pitcher Ryne Stanek. The right-hander heads to St. Louis after a down season with the New York Mets.
Free-agent reliever Ryne Stanek and the St. Louis Cardinals are in agreement on a contract, according to sources familiar with the deal.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) January 10, 2026
Stanek is a few seasons removed from his stellar 2022 campaign, when he looked unhittable as a setup man for the Houston Astros. Stanek had a 1.15 ERA and 1.22 WHIP over 59 games that year. He also had four spotless outings en route to the Astros’ 2022 World Series title.
However, Stanek has failed to keep his ERA below 4.00 in each of the last three seasons, including a nightmare 2025 campaign with the Mets. Stanek had one of the worst seasons of his career during his final season in New York. He had a 5.30 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP across 65 games, with his numbers worsening as the season progressed.
With Stanek once showing that he could perform at the highest level, it’s understandable why the Cardinals wanted to give him a shot. It may help that Stanek was born and raised in St. Louis. What doesn’t help is that he was actually named after a Chicago Cubs legend, despite being born into a family of Cardinals fans.
