Cardinals Cut Ties with Reliever Who Struggled with Walks, HRs in '26

Unhappy with Ryne Stanek’s leadership style around some of their young pitchers, the St. Louis Cardinals decided long ago that they would not be bringing the veteran reliever back for the 2027 season, per sources familiar with the situation.

On Monday, the Cardinals made that decision official by declining the option for Stanek, a move that makes the reliever a free agent. The Cardinals paid Stanek $1 million to get out of the reliever’s $6 million option for 2027.

The Cardinals also announced that right-handed pitcher Chase Hampton – claimed off waivers from the New York Yankees system earlier this season – had been assigned to the Baltimore Orioles after being waived.

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The Cards also reinstated right-handed reliever Max Rajcic from the 60-day Injured List. Rajcic, a former starter who was converted to the bullpen last season, was promoted to the big leagues and made his MLB debut on June 18 at Kansas City. Rajcic tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow on July 3 at Wrigley Field and had Tommy John surgery where doctors harvested a tendon from his hamstring to repair his elbow. He is expected miss the entire 2027 season while strengthening his arm. Rajcic, 25, appeared in six games with the Cardinals and struck out eight batters in nine innings of work.

Stanek, 35, signed with the Cardinals after pitching for the Marlins, Astros and Mets earlier in his career. He appeared in 70 games with the Cardinals, going 2-3 with a 4.02 ERA. He had a team-high 26 holds, but he saved just two games in six opportunities.

He picked up the save on Opening Day against the Rays despite walking three batters. He allowed four home runs in June with three of them coming on June 12 in Minnesota in a loss to the Twins. He allowed three homers in August, including two against New York at Yankees Stadium on August 3.

Stanek's finest moment of the season came on Aug. 11, when he came in for reliever Caleb Ferguson, who had walked the bases loaded in the eighth inning in a scoreless game. Stanek induced a double-play grounder and got a fly out to escape the jam unscathed.   

At issue for Stanek, were the nine homers he allowed and his 12 percent walk rate (12th percentile in MLB). The average velocity on his fastball (97.9 mph) still ranked in MLB’s 93rd percentile and he used it to strike out 29.7 percent of the hitters he faced.

In his 10 career MLB seasons, Stanek is 23-26 with 16 saves and a 3.87 ERA in 536 games.