Cardinals Signing Explained: Why Ryne Stanek Intrigued St. Louis

The St. Louis Cardinals, even in the middle of a rebuild, needed some bullpen help.

On Friday, the Cardinals addressed the back end of their bullpen with a low-risk, high-reward addition. According to Robert Murray of FanSided. St. Louis and right-hander Ryne Stanek, most recently of the New York Mets, agreed to a one-year contract for the upcoming season.

Stanek had a rough year with the Mets, but that made him the perfect fit for a Cardinals team that doesn't expect to contend for a division title, and will be able to collect trade chips for him if he performs well in the first four months of the season.

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What Stanek brings to table for St. Louis

Jul 3, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Ryne Stanek (55) reacts during the eighth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

First, a few obvious disclaimers about Stanek, from the Cardinals' perspective: He's 34, he put up an ERA that started with a five last season, and his strikeout rate fell off a cliff from 27.8% in 2024, right around his career average, to 22.7% last year.

There's no guarantee Stanek becomes a reliable high-leverage reliever next year, but on a team like the Cardinals, the difference between a good bullpen and a bad one probably won't make the difference between a playoff spot and just barely missing out on October.

That gave the Cardinals the freedom to take some swings on some one-year deals for veterans, all of whom could be exciting trade deadline chips if they succeed. That was the rationale behind signing starting pitcher Dustin May, and that had to be the rationale here, as well.

There's not much deception in Stanek's game at this point. He threw his fastball 98.5 mph on average last year, which ranked in the 96th percentile of velocity among pitchers across the majors, but batters hit .268 against that fastball.

In addition to helping the righty throw more strikes this year, the Cardinals would do well to figure out a minor change to Stanek's fastball (grip, arm slot, etc.) that generates more swings and misses.

Is there a world where the Cardinals are so unexpectedly good that they have to think twice about dealing Stanek at the deadline? It's baseball, so anything can happen. But that would classify as a good problem for the Cardinals ot have.

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