Cardinals Make Right Call on $6 Million Ryne Stanek 2027 Option

The St. Louis Cardinals made the right call.

Mar 28, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Ryne Stanek (55) reacts after getting the third out against the Tampa Bay Rays during the tenth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The first decision of the offseason is here for the St. Louis Cardinals.

With the Cardinals trading away most of the veterans on the roster, there were few internal decisions for the team to make right away. But the Cardinals held a $6 million club option on veteran reliever Ryne Stanek that the club needed to decide on within five days of the World Series coming to an end. The deadline is Monday afternoon, but the decision has reportedly been made, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

"Cardinals are declining the team option on setup reliever Ryne Stanek’s contract, per a source familiar with team’s decision," Goold reported. "Stanek (RHP) becomes a free agent. He had a $6-million option for 2027. Cardinals will go looking again for that veteran reliever (or two) like him."

The Cardinals Have Work To Do

Sep 12, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Ryne Stanek (55) delivers against the Chicago White Sox during the sixth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Le-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Cardinals made the right call here with Stanek. That isn't to say that Stanek wasn't good for St. Louis in 2026. He was better than you'd think just by looking at his overall season ERA. Stanek finished the campaign with a 4.02 ERA in 70 appearances. He got better as the season went on, though. From April 30 through the end of the season, Stanek logged a 2.84 ERA in 56 total appearances. He became a reliable arm in Oli Marmol's bullpen and he is a local boy.

While this is the case, Stanek is 35 years old at this point and is projected to land a deal worth just shy of $3.5 million across one season, per Spotrac. Despite his solid season for St. Louis in 2026, he is now another year older and isn't projected to get close to the $2.5 million raise he would've gotten if the Cardinals had picked up his option. In 2026, he made $3.5 million.

So, now the Cardinals need to go back to the drawing board. The bullpen was the organization's biggest weakness in 2026 and now a member of it who had success is heading to the open market. It wouldn't be a bad idea to continue speaking to Stanek and seeing if he would return on a cheaper deal than what his club option would've been. If not, then the Cardinals will have to go out and add multiple veteran arms into the mix. With a good bullpen, St. Louis arguably could've been a playoff team in 2026. St. Louis needs to fix it now.