Cardinals decline Ryne Stanek's $6 million option

The news came Sunday night from Derrick Goold, who also said the Cardinals are already planning to replace him.

Derrick Goold

@dgoold

#stlcards are declining the team option on setup reliever Ryne Stanek’s contract, per source familiar with team’s decision. Stanek (RHP) becomes a free agent. He had a $6-million option for 2027. #Cardinals will go looking again for that veteran reliever (or two) like him.

That last line is the important one. St. Louis isn't saying it no longer needs a guy like Stanek. It's saying it doesn't want to pay this guy $6 million to be that guy. So the front office is back in the market for a veteran reliever, maybe 2, to pitch the late innings in front of Riley O'Brien. O'Brien led the league in saves this year in a bullpen that otherwise had plenty of rough nights.

Goold followed up with the number that explains it. Because of the buyout, the real decision was about $5 million, not 6.

Derrick Goold

@dgoold

This was a $5-million decision for the #stlcards, to give you a frame of reference for what the club is thinking for that role. There was a $1 million buyout to not take the option.

Derrick Goold

@dgoold

#stlcards are declining the team option on setup reliever Ryne Stanek’s contract, per source familiar with team’s decision. Stanek (RHP) becomes a free agent. He had a $6-million option for 2027. #Cardinals will go looking again for that veteran reliever (or two) like him.

Stanek's 2026 season shows why that was a tough call. He pitched in 70 games and went 2-3 with a 4.02 ERA. He wasn't steady. He posted an ERA of 2.00 or lower in 3 different months, then had a 4.91 ERA in August. When he was good, he was a real setup man. When he wasn't, he was a 4-ERA reliever with a $6 million option, and teams decline those every November.

This was always a short-term deal. The Cardinals brought Stanek home in January on a 1-year contract with a club option for 2027. He was 34 and coming off a bad year with the Mets: 65 games, a 4-6 record, 3 saves and a 5.30 ERA. Still, his fastball averaged 98.5 mph, which ranked in the 96th percentile. Since debuting in 2017 he has pitched for Tampa Bay, Miami, Houston, Seattle and the Mets, and he won a ring with the 2022 Astros.

That history is also why declining the option doesn't have to mean goodbye. Spotrac projected his market value at a little over $3.4 million on a 1-year deal, which is about half the option price. If the open market agrees, Stanek could come back to St. Louis cheaper than the option. Or a contender that wants a high-velocity arm with 30 postseason appearances could sign him first.

Either way, Chaim Bloom's front office now has a setup job to fill and about $5 million it chose not to spend on Stanek. The question this winter is whether the replacement it signs is actually better than Stanek, or just cheaper.