Mariners unknowingly showed the NY Mets what they should have done last week

The New York Mets didn’t show a whole lot of creativity at the trade deadline. None of their moves were completely unexpected. They needed bullpen arms. They needed a center fielder. All of the boxes were crossed off.

An argument could be made they should have added a starting pitcher. One could say Cedric Mullins wasn’t the only bat to onboard. A whole different argument and easy one to make because there’s always a case to ask a team to make themselves as good as possible, the real debate comes in about what they should have subtracted.

Unknowingly, the Seattle Mariners showed the Mets what they should have done. Last year, they were trade deadline buyers but willing to part with Ryne Stanek. It cleared up a spot in their bullpen, saved some salary they could utilize elsewhere, and rid themselves of a middle reliever who had a 6.06 ERA in his final 16.1 innings. Those last innings came as a member of the Mets.

Trading Ryne Stanek last week might have been a good move by the Mets last week

If the Mariners could find a taker for Stanek, surely the Mets could have as well. He had a 3.96 ERA before Sunday’s disaster. He was at 4.38 when the Mets acquired him last year. Even looking at numbers like FIP to give a glance into more expected statistics, Stanek was having a bad year prior to the trade deadline. A 3.45 FIP and 3.82 ERA after his July 30th appearance, one could make the case he was worth swapping out for the sake of maybe adding someone else to the roster.

The Mets were willing to trade the much younger, more controllable Jose Butto. The San Francisco Giants wouldn’t have had interest in Stanek. Surely, someone would’ve nibbled at a minimal cost. In doing so, the Mets open themselves up to some additional movement. They could’ve added a better arm. A spot in the bullpen opens up for Clay Holmes (or maybe even Frankie Montas if you can find a mop for him). A rotation spot opens up for Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat, or a trade addition that never happened.

The Mets stuck with Stanek. A horrendous Sunday felt a little too familiar to the type of pitcher he was last year in the regular season. Stanek hasn’t been a complete bust for the Mets in 2025. However, his high-leverage spots have been abysmal. Batters are hitting .327/.377/.510 in those situations against him.

Sunday was mop up duty that got out of hand. Unfortunately for Stanek, it’s about all he can offer the Mets. He has fallen down the depth chart to the point where he’ll be a choice for the Mets in a game they’re trailing rather than a top choice to finish a game in lieu of Edwin Diaz.

Things could’ve been different. Were there no takers? Do the Mets have a little too much belief? His roster spot might be better used in a variety of ways.