36-year-old Robert Stock had last pitched for the Mets on July 20, 2021, in Cincinnati. James McCann was behind the plate, calling the signs in a pre-pitchcom world. The left side of the infield was populated by Jonathan Villar and J.D. Davis. Pete Alonso hit the 88th home run of his career in the top of the first inning. Not a single other player to appear in that game for the Mets was still on their 2026 team, and only two players on the Reds (Tyler Stephenson and Eugenio Suárez) were still on their 2026 roster.
But somehow, against all odds, Robert Stock — after three years without major league action, two stints in international leagues, and a pair of appearances in 2025 with the Red Sox — found his way back to the Mets on August 2, 2026.
That 2021 Mets team was on the brink of a late-season collapse when Stock made his two appearances for the team. By the time Stock joined the 2026 Mets, there was nothing left to collapse. No division lead to be blown. The Mets were simply hoping to hold the raft together and find signs of life in the midst of an extraordinarily disappointing campaign. Stock and Sean Manaea were the two veterans in a rotation otherwise filled with energetic young prospects looking to prove themselves — but Stock’s story almost made him fit better with the latter group than the former. There were no guarantees. With each outing, he was pitching for the chance to earn one more day in the big leagues.
Stock was first promoted for a spot start against the Marlins. He leveraged that glimmer of an opportunity into seven starts, one relief appearance, and 30.1 innings of work over the season’s final two months before finger numbness sidelined him. There were some gems in there, too. On August 14, he allowed just one unearned run over 4.1 innings against the Nationals (who scored the third-most runs in MLB this year). On August 19, he allowed a run over 4.1 innings while striking out six against the Padres, arguably the hottest team in the National League at the time. And on August 31, he fired 5.1 shutout innings against the American League pennant winners at Tropicana Field, striking out four Rays batters while walking none.
Stock’s less-than-glamorous 5.93 ERA paints an incomplete picture of his performance. His 3.92 FIP indicates bad batted-ball luck, likely assisted by the Mets’ subpar defense. He struck out just 29 batters in 30.1 innings, a relatively inconspicuous number in today’s fireballing times, but he walked just 15 and allowed just two homers. He also suffered from a pair of disastrous outings, allowing eight runs in Pittsburgh and seven runs in Milwaukee, which inflated his ERA. He allowed one or zero runs in four of his five other starts.
So the question looms: Will Stock be a part of the Mets’ 2027 plans? The case against him is a perfectly reasonable one. He’ll be 37 years old, meaning his 59th-percentile fastball velocity (95.0 mph) will likely only go down from here. His underlying metrics were nothing to write home about, with relatively low chase and whiff rates despite a low hard-hit rate on the positive side. The Mets also have five clear starting options heading into Spring Training, with youngsters Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, Zac Thornton, and Jonah Tong to go along with the veteran lefty Manaea. Stock’s position would likely be that of a reliever or swingman, and he doesn’t quite have the wipeout stuff the Mets might look for in a two-inning bullpen arm to serve that role.
The case for Stock? It takes guts to make it back to the majors after years away. It takes guts to perform under pressure with each outing potentially being the last of your career. And it takes good enough stuff and good enough command to show the glimpses of success that Stock did in August and September.
Injuries will always strike. Severe underperformance is always possible. (The current Mets brass should know those two principles better than anyone). If by May 2027, the Mets are already in emergency need of a spot starter or even a full-on rotation replacement, Stock is certainly a more attractive option than someone with zero command, zero experience, or zero ability to meet the moment.
Plus, his twitter account makes for quite an entertaining follow. And if nothing else, Mets fans can always use a bit of humor in their oft-torturous summers.
