Robert Stock has pitched in several countries, including Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Korea, in an effort to keep his MLB career alive. Stock signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets, which includes an invitation to spring training, on Nov. 25, according to the SNY Mets X account.
Stock, 36, is a right-handed pitcher who pitched for the Doosan Bears in the Korea Baseball Organization in 2022. In 2023, he was in the independent Atlantic League with the Long Island Ducks. Stock pitched in the Liga Mexicana de Béisbol for the Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos in 2024. This winter, he is pitching in LIDOM with the Aguilas Cibaeñas.
Stock has had several stints in Major League Baseball, most recently this past season with the Boston Red Sox. He was also on the Mets roster in 2021 and pitched five innings for them with three runs allowed and six strikeouts. Stock is very self-aware and commented on his situation on X.
“I’m 36 years old and have had extremely limited MLB success. And yet MLB teams continue to give me chances. Why? Because I continually find new ways to improve. Newest trick for 2026 – the knucklecurve,” Stock said on X on Nov. 25.
Stock throws a fastball that is at an average of around 95 mph along with a cutter, sweeper, sinker, and a changeup.
Stock hopes that the knuckle curve could help him improve at the MLB level and that he can help the Mets enjoy a deep playoff run in 2026. Stock made his MLB debut with the San Diego Padres in 2018 and had the best season of his MLB career with 39 1/3 innings, 38 strikeouts, and an ERA of 2.50. He also pitched with the Padres in 2019, had his first stint with the Red Sox in 2020, and pitched four innings for the Chicago Cubs in 2021.
Stock has thrown 75 1/3 MLB innings with 77 strikeouts and an ERA of 4.90.
The Mets also signed right-handed reliever Nick Burdi to a minor league deal on Nov. 25, according to the SNY Mets X account.
Burdi has dealt with various injuries and has only pitched 30 1/3 MLB innings with 44 strikeouts and an ERA of 5.34. Burdi, 32, pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings for the Red Sox in 2025 with five strikeouts. He made his MLB debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2018 and pitched with them through the 2020 season. His best MLB season came in 2024 with the New York Yankees when he pitched 9 1/3 innings with 12 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.86.
Sean Boyle Signs Deal With Padres – Sean Boyle signed a minor league deal with the San Diego Padres that includes an invite to spring training on Nov. 23, according to World Baseball Network’s Julian Guilarte.
Boyle, 29, spent his entire minor league career in the Yankees organization after being drafted by them in the 25th round of the 2018 MLB Draft. Last season, Boyle was getting used to the workload of a starting pitcher again. Tommy John Surgery sidelined him for the final three months of the 2023 season and the majority of the 2024 season.
Boyle spent the entire 2025 season with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. He pitched 134 2/3 innings with 120 strikeouts and an ERA of 4.61 in 2025.
Boyle has thrown 486 innings with 499 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.83 in his seven-year minor league career.
RELATED: Yankees Right-Handed Pitching Prospect Sean Boyle Continues to Defy the Odds
He will have a much better opportunity to break into the Padres’ MLB rotation next season than he would have in New York. The Padres have had three former Yankees in their rotation over the past two seasons, which include Michael King, Jhony Brito, and Randy Vasquez. They already lost Dylan Cease via free agency to the Toronto Blue Jays, and it could also lose King to free agency.
Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa Signs With Texas – Anthony Hoopii-Tuionetoa signed a minor league deal to return to the Texas Rangers, according to the MiLB.com transaction log on Nov. 27. Hoopii-Tuionetoa, 25, was born in Wailuku, Hawaii, and was drafted by the Rangers in the 30th round of the MLB Draft in 2019. He has never pitched in MLB and was traded to the Chicago White Sox for outfielder Robbie Grossman on May 8, 2024.
Hoopii-Tuionetoa has pitched 136. ⅔ innings with 177 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.82 in his minor league career.
Photo: Robert Stock delivers a pitch during the third inning of the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers Wednesday, July 7, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
