Deal With Former Astros Reliever Agreed By Mariners
The Seattle Mariners want to sign reliever Ryne Stanek, according to rumors. Stanek pitched 173.2 innings with a 2.90 ERA (142 ERA+), 10.2 strikeouts per nine, and 38 games completed in his three years with the Houston Astros. In this span, 2022 was his finest year with a 1.15 ERA in 54 2/3 innings pitched. He will now try to duplicate same outcomes while wearing a TEAM uniform.
Signing with the Mariners is Ryne Stanek.
Relief pitchers may be unpredictable, as Stanek declined in 2023 despite having a strong track record. His 4.09 ERA and career’s second-lowest strikeout rate were achieved in 50 2/3 innings. Not only did he allow strong contact (20th percentile in average exit velocity), but he also was unable to force batters to leave the zone. Even in four postseason innings, he struggled. Teams are unwilling to pay for previous output anymore. Stanek probably stayed on the market because teams saw last year’s setbacks as the beginning of a pattern as he moved into his thirties.
Stanek’s season is predicted by Fan Graphs to be more like 2023 than 2022. However, the fundamental stats for Stanek’s performance aren’t all that bad. Stanek was one of the big leagues’ hardest throwers last season, despite the fact that older pitchers often lose velocity with age. His fastball averaged 98.2 mph, which was more than 96 percent of the league. Furthermore, he produced whiffs at an exceptional level, demonstrating that his stuff and velocity were still sufficient to cause batters to miss.
Stanek played for the Astros in the postseason for a considerable amount of innings. Stanek pitched 11 innings in 13 postseason games in 2021, recording 11 strikeouts, 3 walks, and a 2.45 ERA. During Houston’s 2022 title run, he excelled even more. He pitched three innings in four different games, giving up no runs, one walk, and six strikeouts. It’s interesting that despite Stanek having just had an incredible regular season, Houston didn’t rely too much on him. Maybe Houston saw the decline and stopped believing in him.
Seattle adds an experienced, adaptable arm that has shown no signs of injury. The key question at hand is whether the righty can recover from 2023 or whether it was the start of the trend that will last the remainder of his career.
