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3) How a player finished his year is less relevant than how the complete season went
Stearns seemed to put a lot more stock in how players finished the 2024 season than how they did in the regular season. With a strong playoff showing from Ryne Stanek and Jesse Winker, the pair of trade deadline acquisitions were welcomed back on one-year contracts. Stanek slowly bled out while Winker struggled, got hurt, came back and did nothing briefly, and then went on the IL for the rest of the year.
Warning signs were already there for both of them. Stanek’s 5.30 ERA last year was actually an improvement over the 6.06 in 17 regular season games at the end of 2024 in a Mets uniform. We can’t blame the Mets for acquiring him in 2024. Asking him to return puts the blame squarely on them. And to let him finish the season?
Winker probably had a better regular season, batting .243 with 3 home runs in 2024 after getting traded to the Mets. However, he hit just .199 with 1 home run in 2023 and in 2022 he batted .219 with 14 home runs. Signed for $7.5 million to play for the team in 2025, the Mets only ended up seeing him in 26 of their 162 games. Yeah, you can’t foresee injuries. Even so, he batted just .229/.309/.400 with a home run in his short stint off of the IL.
Fortunately or not, the Mets don’t have any standouts from the second half who were significantly better to finish the year than they were to start in a position of “stay or go?” Stanek pitched his way out of any sort of reunion. Winker’s inability to stay healthy and the team’s greater need to open up the DH spot should have them landing elsewhere.