SAN FRANCISCO — Ryne Stanek’s 2022 World Series ring with the Astros serves as his reminder that a deep bullpen is a good idea for any team with serious championship aspirations.
That year, Stanek joined Ryan Pressly, Rafael Montero, Héctor Neris and Bryan Abreu, among others, to provide formidable resistance in the late innings.
“It’s a proven recipe to have success,” Stanek said Sunday before the Mets’ 5-3 win to finish a sweep over the Giants at Oracle Park. “To have a deep, talented bullpen with good stuff and you have got guys that understand how to pitch in the playoffs, how to pitch in tight games, how to go about their business the right way.”
Stanek sees that dynamic at play with the Mets, who activated reliever Gregory Soto on Sunday, two days after acquiring him in a trade with the Orioles.
The lefty Soto has a postseason résumé from his Phillies tenure in 2023 — in addition to the Orioles last year — but more importantly, he provides the Mets with a high-leverage option with swing-and-miss capabilities.
Along those lines, the Mets also have Edwin Díaz, Reed Garrett, Huascar Brazobán and Stanek. Also, left-hander Brooks Raley returned from Tommy John surgery rehab immediately after the All-Star break and hadn’t allowed an earned run in his three appearances entering Sunday.
It’s possible president of baseball operations David Stearns isn’t finished in the bullpen: Plenty of potential upgrades remain available between now and Thursday’s trade deadline.
The idea of adding another big arm intrigues Stanek.
“That’s how you win in October,” he said. “The starters give you four or five [innings], maybe into the sixth if they are really cruising. But then you just ‘boom, boom, boom,’ and then you try to put a game down as fast as possible.”
After a rough June stretch in which the bullpen was stretched thin by injuries and short starts from a makeshift rotation, the unit has stabilized.
In addition to Raley and José Buttó returning from the IL, Stanek has rebounded from a largely underwhelming first half with scoreless outings in 10 of his past 12 appearances entering Sunday.
“We definitely thought from the start this year the bullpen was pretty good,” Stanek said. “Then we had some injuries and a lot of things that the year just hands you. We had a month stretch where we scuffled, but I think it was like an all-encompassing, with injuries and use, and all the things coming together that put a lot of strain on us. I think, overall, we have had a pretty good group.”
Stanek, who entered Sunday with a 4.04 ERA in 41 appearances, credited manager Carlos Mendoza and pitching coach Jeremy Hefner for ensuring the entire bullpen is utilized and relievers aren’t overworked.
He also has liked the organizational depth that has helped keep the Mets afloat, with pitchers such as Rico Garcia, Brandon Waddell, José Castillo, Austin Warren and Chris Devenski helping absorb innings at a respectable level.
“We have relied on a lot of different guys to get us into games and keep us in games and do a lot of things,” Stanek said. “So many guys have come up and answered the call. I think it’s been a pretty good testament to the depth of the quality arms that we have, that we were able to shuffle as many guys as we did and still play good baseball.
“We had a stretch [in June] of two weeks where we kind of scuffled, but for the most part, the whole year, we’ve played really well and pitched well. That speaks to the depth and quality of depth we have.”
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