Should the Mets bring back this high-leverage facility?

While the New York Mets are primarily associated with star players and starting pitchers, one area they need to improve in is the bullpen.

New York’s pitchers were extremely inconsistent throughout the season, and this may have led to the team’s demise in the NLCS; their penchant for throwing free passes created significant traffic on the base paths, which opened the door for big innings. Additionally, five relievers could leave the team this offseason as Adam Ottavino, Brooks Raley, Drew Smith and Ryne Stanek become unrestricted free agents, and Phil Maton has a club option that the Mets could decline.

Of these pitchers, the Mets should prioritize reuniting with Stanek due to his strong performances down the stretch.

This may seem strange, since Stanek’s overall numbers with the Mets seem underwhelming at first glance. After being acquired from the Seattle Mariners at the trade deadline, the 33-year-old right-hander recorded a 6.06 ERA, 4.39 FIP and 1.29 WHIP; What’s even weirder is that Stanek is known for his walking batters, which, as mentioned earlier, is something the Mets are trying to cut down on.

However, these numbers are significantly skewed by his performances on July 28 and August 11, in which he combined to allow seven runs in 1.1 innings. From August 13 to September 28, Stanek stunned with a blistering 2.92 ERA, 2.27 FIP, and 1.05 WHIP; over that 12.1 innings span, he struck out 18 batters while walking just four, and opponents could only muster a .205 batting average against him.

As the games mattered more, Stanek seemed to serve better, a trend that continued into the postseason. In seven appearances and eight innings, the right-hander posted a 3.38 ERA, 3.92 FIP and 1.00 WHIP with a meager .167 batting average; he struck out eight batters while walking just three. Most notably, Stanek pitched heroically in Game 5 of the NLCS against the Dodgers, recording the longest single-game run of his career (2.1 innings); Although he allowed a home run, he didn’t allow anything else and struck out four batters to get the win and save New York’s season.

With such a long streak of impressive performances, Stanek’s return would be one of the best low-key moves the Mets could make. Spotrac currently projects him to receive a one-year contract worth $2.6 million, which would be an absolute bargain for a highly leveraged division; Stanek will likely ask for more, but the Mets should certainly find a reasonable price to retain him.

New York’s bullpen still needs more help, but Stanek staying in Queens would be a good start.