Grading the Mets trade with the Mariners for Ryne Stanek

It’s MLB trade deadline season and the New York Mets aren’t going to be left out. They picked up veteran reliever Ryne Stanek from the Seattle Mariners for minor leaguer Rhylan Thomas. 

Stanek was an offseason target of the Mets who’d end up signing with Seattle for one-year and $4 million. A successful product from the Tampa Bay Rays in the age of the opener who’d later continue to pitch well as a member of the Houston Astros for a couple of seasons, he joins the Mets on his birthday with a 4.38 ERA on the season in 39 innings of work.

Although not glamorous numbers, the cost is important in grading this trade. Thomas, the number 30 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, was a movable part of the farm system and expendable.

Give the Mets a B+ for the Ryne Stanek trade

The guy the Mets gave up is a lifetime .291/.363/.393 hitter in the minors with 69 walks and 70 strikeouts. The masterful command of the strike zone and putting the bat on the ball is his greatest tool. Thomas only hit 8 home runs in 709 plate appearances. Power isn’t going to suddenly come out of nowhere to any new extreme.

Thomas has a lot in common with another Mets minor leaguer, Nick Morabito. Another high average, high contact prospect, Thomas’ struggles in Triple-A made it easier to part with him. He was batting only .235/.286/.377 this season but with a curious 5 home runs in 196 plate appearances.

The only thing keeping this trade from becoming anything higher is that Stanek takes up a roster spot possibly better utilized on someone else. His addition doesn’t negate the possibility of higher-leverage arms such as Tanner Scott or Carlos Estevez. On a cold streak with 4 earned runs in his last 3 appearances which equal only one total inning of work, the Mets bought low on a guy they’ll hope can get back on track.

Previous to those three outings, he was 6-2 with a 3.55 ERA. The Mets did something last year with the Mariners a little earlier in the summer when they picked up Trevor Gott while eating the salary of teammate Chris Flexen to lower the cost. Gott was also struggling in Seattle prior to the deal. It became a mostly irrelevant trade as the Mets decided to sell only weeks later. Luckily, there will be no time to turn the switch. The Mets are getting aggressive and we should expect at least one more bullpen addition and hopefully a bat (a starting pitcher if we’re lucky) before Tuesday at 6pm.