When you can’t beat the Houston Astros, you have some of their key players join you. That essentially is what the Seattle Mariners will be doing as they have agreed to bring in Ryne Stanek. On Friday, Mark Feisand broke the report and Seattle Times Ryan Divish confirmed it.
The Mariners haven’t added much this offseason, so the addition of Ryne Stanek will be a welcome sight amongst the fans. Although he’s coming off of a mediocre year, Stanek was solid with the Astros from 2021-23. During that time, he pitched to a combined 2.90 ERA through 173.2 innings with 190 strikeouts and an ERA+ of 142. He primarily served as a setup to Astros closer Ryan Pressly, which is what he’ll likely do in Seattle for Andrés Muñoz. However, the Mariners have been struggling with injuries to their pitching staff this spring. Matt Brash and newly acquired Gregory Santos were both shut down, but have begun ramping up.
Stanek made 186 appearances for Houston in that three-year span, racking up 41 holds and three saves. Despite seeing his ERA rise, Stanek got his walk rate down to 9.9%, which is a personal best. He also tossed 18 postseason innings for the club over those past three years with an ERA of 3.00.
When looking for someone to add, Stanek’s stuff became appealing. He’ll be an addition to the Los Bomberos with a fastball that averages in the upper 90’s as well as a splitter and slider. Stanek received some interest early on this offseason with the Astros looking at a reunion, but also with clubs like the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and New York Mets. None of those teams were able to reach a deal, which opened the door for the Mariners.
A corresponding move will need to be made as the Mariners’ 40-man roster is currently full. RosterResource estimates the Seattle payroll is currently $136MM. That’s just barely under last year’s Opening Day figure of $137MM, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Stanek’s deal isn’t expected to be massive, but it should bump that number up a bit.
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