NY Mets Monday Morning GM: 5 unpopular David Stearns decisions that went badly

3) Sticking with Ryne Stanek through the entire 2025 season

Ryne Stanek was brought back to the 2025 Mets based mostly on his playoff performance the year prior. He seemed to serve his purpose in 2025. The Mets just didn’t know when to quit him.

The trade deadline is often a time to make massive changes. Roster cuts, due to additions, are not uncommon. The Mets didn’t seem too keen on cutting Stanek or even trading him away. Rico Garcia ended up as one of their late July roster casualties while Stanek lingered on.

A 3.82 ERA and 3.48 FIP at the end of July showed Stanek wasn’t a complete waste of roster space. Quickly, those totals got out of control.

An ERA of 12.38 in August and 5.23 in September had fans second-guessing why the Mets were so determined to stick with Stanek when he was clearly cooked.

Relievers can be unpredictable and Stanek had peripherals telling us he might just have a chance to get hot. His late-season failings were overshadowed by how poorly many of the incoming Mets players performed down the stretch. More on one of them later on.

Stearns has been unafraid to execute underperforming players from the roster. Whether due to belief in a turnaround or a lack of alternatives, Stanek managed to make it through all of 2025 unharmed.