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We figured he’d get a big league gig somewhere, but who foresaw an entire division going after New York Mets free agent Ryne Stanek? According to Mark Feinsand, most of the NL Central has him on their radar.
Ryne Stanek is drawing interest from a number of teams, per sources, including most of the National League Central.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) January 6, 2026
The hard-throwing righty is coming off of a 5.30 ERA season with the Mets made up of multiple late-season blow-ups. We were mostly distracted by the way Ryan Helsley took a month to get things together to truly feel the scars of what Stanek did. One (un)lucky team in the NL Central looks ready to take a chance on him. Where will it be?
Which NL Central team will be the lucky winner in the Ryne Stanek sweepstakes?
Chicago Cubs
They tend to like taking chances on guys. The move would reunite Stanek with fellow 2024 Mets trade deadline addition Phil Maton as well as cheaper fliers like Hunter Harvey and Jacob Webb who, in the right situation, might put together a really good year. Frankly, there isn’t much room for Stanek there, but it has to happen some day in honor of Ryne Sandberg.
Cincinnati Reds
They’ve been relatively tame other than re-signing Emilio Pagan to be their closer. Possibly in the market for a pitcher like Stanek, it’ll be easy to outbid their tightly vaulted payroll. Imagine him being one their big offseason additions after making the postseason in 2025.
Milwaukee Brewers
This might be the unwisest decision for a team that tends to make smarter ones. Their bullpen lacks righty relievers so maybe? It's difficult to completely dismiss it. The Brewers need some bodies in the bullpen.
Pittsburgh Pirates
This actually makes a lot of sense for them and not just because they’d have a Mets reunion of their own with Gregory Soto. The Pirates have the room in their bullpen for a guy like him and have shown an active tendency all offseason. It's hard to count them out on too many players right now.
St. Louis Cardinals
It’s his hometown team even if he is named after Ryne Sandberg. Even if the Cardinals are rebuilding, signing him for the purposes of trading him mid-year seems to fit the offseason approach. This is destiny and the place for him to spend a few months and maybe rebuild his value for next offseason.