Where could new Miami Marlins pitcher Ryne Stanek fit in their bullpen plans?
Ryne Stanek had just finished playing catch at Tropicana Field on Wednesday afternoon. It was an impromptu mini workout in place of his scheduled rehab assignment was canceled due to a pipe break at Bradenton’s LECOM Park, where the Tampa Bay Rays’ Class A Advanced affiliate Charlotte Stone Crabs were supposed to play the Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate Bradenton Marauders, that made the field unplayable.
The 4 p.m. trade deadline had just passed, but the Rays were in the midst of finalizing one final deal at the buzzer. Stanek, a 28-year-old right-handed relief pitcher who the Rays selected in the first round of the 2013 MLB Draft out of the University of Arkansas, wasn’t too worried at the moment. He had spent his whole career to this point in the Rays organization. He couldn’t possibly be involved with this deal, right?
And then, shortly after he took off his cleats, he got the phone call.
Stanek, along with top prospect Jesus Sanchez, had been traded to the Miami Marlins for pitchers Trevor Richards and Nick Anderson.
“It caught me off guard because I found out after the deadline,” Stanek said Friday fromthe Marlins complex at Jupiter’s Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, where his latest attempt at a rehab assignment was squashed due to rain. “It was interesting. It’s definitely a weird, emotional time because I had spent my entire career so far in one place. They drafted me. I had a lot of really good friends and people over there who had been around for a long time.”
Now, the hard-throwing Stanek begins a new chapter in his professional baseball career, one where he figures to be part of the Marlins’ rebuild.
Stanek hasn’t received specifics yet about what his role will be when he is activated from the injured list for right hip soreness, but he has experience with different bullpen duties.
The Rays over the past two years have primarily used him as an opener, essentially a reliever starting a game and pitching an inning or two before turning the game over to a long reliever or a traditional starter. Stanek has 56 “starts” among his 121 career appearances but has never pitched more than two innings in a given game.
Outside of that, Stanek has been used as a setup man, pitching primarily in the seventh and eighth innings since making his major-league debut in 2017.
“I’ve been put in every role under the sun where I was at, so I don’t think anything’s going to surprise me where I throw,” said Stanek, who has struck out 61 batters while walking 20 over 55 2/3 innings this season. “They haven’t given me a lot of insight as to where I’m going to be.
“I would assume I’m throwing out of the bullpen.”
The Marlins have a lot of roles to fill. After trading Richards, Anderson and Sergio Romo, Miami has to tinker with how it handles late-inning, high-leverage situations.
“When you have changes like that, obviously doors open to opportunities,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said Thursday. “You’re using guys differently.”
Stanek, however he’s used, brings a three-pitch mix highlighted by a four-seam fastball that averages 97.5 mph and reaches triple digits along with a splitter that hitters whiff 57.1 percent of the time that they swing at it. He also uses a slider that reaches the low 90s against right-handed hitters.
“The stuff is big,” Mattingly said. “He profiles late and we can use him in different ways.”
Stanek said he’s ready for whatever opportunity the Marlins give him.
“It definitely to me seems like there’s going to be opportunity to do some different things and have some jobs and roles up for grabs or to fight out for. I would assume my name is going to be in that mix.”
As far as physically, Stanek said he feels good. He will make his third attempt at a rehab assignment Saturday morning with the Marlins’ Gulf Coast League affiliate. Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill said the organization will evaluate Stanek after “a couple outings” and then decide if he’s ready to be activated.
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