Released Red Sox 36-Year-Old Journeyman Signs With Mets In Free Agency

The contributions at Triple-A shouldn't be overlooked

Oct 18, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; The Big Apple is seen within Citi Field prior to game five of the NLCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox's playoff run in 2025 can be attributed to a lot of players, and that extends to those who held down the fort at Triple-A.

This season, the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox used 45 pitchers, and only two threw over 80 innings. One, Tyler Uberstine, just earned a promotion to the 40-man roster so he wouldn't be selected in the Rule 5 Draft. The other, Robert Stock, was released in August.

Stock has only 57 major league appearances to his name, and he made his first this season since 2021. But the four-team major league veteran, who just turned 36, made enough of an impression during his time in Worcester to earn a new minor-league deal for the upcoming season.

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Stock agrees to deal with Mets

Worcester starting pitcher Robert Stock throws against Syracuse on opening day at Polar Park. | Rick Cinclair/Telegram & Gazette / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On Tuesday, the Mets announced they had signed Stock to a minor-league deal with an invitation to major league spring training camp in February, per SNY. Stock previously pitched in the Mets organization for the second half of 2021 after the Chicago Cubs cut him loose.

Most Red Sox fans who know Stock's name will remember his season for the ninth-inning implosion he had on Sunday Night Baseball against the New York Yankees, when he gave up three walks and an Aaron Judge home run. But he was quite steady in Triple-A, pitching to a 3.92 ERA with 96 strikeouts in 85 innings.

Stock, who is becoming a true baseball lifer, is currently pitching for Aguilas Cibaeñas in the Dominican Winter League. And he's also picked up a knuckle-curve that he claimed was one of the chief reasons the Mets gave him a contract in a social media post on Tuesday.

I'm 36 years old and have had extremely limited MLB success. And yet MLB teams continue to give me chances. Why? Because I continually find new ways to improve. Newest trick for 2026 - the knucklecurve. https://t.co/sDYOV4knK9 pic.twitter.com/ZZe8FQNkPv

— Robert Stock (@RobertStock6) November 26, 2025

Incidentally, Stock is truly a great social media follow, even for Red Sox fans who no longer get to witness him pitch in Worcester.

Though he sports a 4.90 ERA in 75 1/3 career innings for the Red Sox, Mets, Cubs, and San Diego Padres, Stock proved this season that he can be valuable organizational depth. And perhaps this newfound knuckle-curve can make him just a bit better than that in Queens.

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