Robert Stock ready to prove his worth in long-awaited return to Mets

CLEVELAND — There was no need to question how much a return to the big league mound meant to Robert Stock.

The 36-year-old right-hander choked back tears when asked about the meaning of his 2026 debut with the Mets on Aug. 2. Stock has had his wife, Sara, beside him through the ups and downs and across the globe. His latest trip into the big leagues is now shared with his 4-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son. That’s what pulled the emotion to the surface.”Once you have something that you’ve been working on for so long, it’s basically all I’ve done my whole life is play baseball, and I want to be able to share it with my kids,” Stock told NorthJersey.com.

Stock’s first start in the major leagues since 2021 with the Mets was something of a full-circle journey. Since that time, he played in the KBO in South Korea, signed with a minor league deal with the Brewers but struggled with a sinker and completed the campaign with the Long Island Ducks in the Atlantic League.

He began to throw with a lower arm slot in Mexico in 2024, which caught the attention of the Red Sox where he spent the 2025 season. He made two relief appearances with the Red Sox, allowing three earned runs in 2⅔ innings, late season. He posted a 5-4 record with a 3.92 ERA in Worcester as the adjustments appeared to be falling into place.

This spring, after Stock made a strong opening impression with six strikeouts in a three-inning Grapefruit League contest, he began to feel pain in his shoulder while pitching for Israel in the World Baseball Classic.

“I spent all last year playing around with sides of the rubber, arm slots, pitch usage,” Stock said, “and it really started to click with me in my very final start before I hurt my shoulder.”

Stock was dealing with thoracic outlet syndrome, with every pitch pressing on an artery in his shoulder. He underwent surgery midway through spring training and returned for a rehab assignment on June 19.

The right-hander showcased his scar on his inner bicep after firing five innings with one earned run on three hits, no walks and four strikeouts in his first start against the Marlins in his first start back in the big leagues.

“Honestly, I was super thankful and glad that the Mets could go get me to see the doctors I needed to identify the problem,” Stock said. “I wasn’t worried that I was gonna not be able to come back. It was just tough. I gotta wait longer.”

Days after his start, interim manager Andy Green told Stock that he had earned another turn through the Mets rotation.

Stock said he feels settled in his arsenal, leading with a cutter that sits around 92 mph, a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and tops out at 98 mph and a mid-90s sinker. He also sprinkles in a changeup and a sweeper. He picked up 12 whiffs in his season debut for the Mets.

The right-hander said that he can accentuate those three fastballs by where he delivers from the rubber.

“I’m not really working on anything except for just executing pitches, which is exactly where you want to be,” Stock said. “Even Hall of Fame pitchers are still at the end of their career falling out of rhythm with a certain pitch or with a delivery, and so it’s a never-ending game of whack-a-mole of even though you know what to do, doing it day in and day out is a different piece.”

With a starting rotation that lost Clay Holmes and David Peterson ahead of the trade deadline and has seen encouraging results from Kodai Senga in a high-leverage bullpen role, Stock’s first start earned him another shot against the Pirates on Saturday.

“I think for him where he’s at in life, a four-day commitment feels pretty good,” Green said. “So he took that news positively (Tuesday) when I shared it with him, and he’ll get back on the bump again and pitch for us. He did a great job last time.”

Stocks looks at the time between his emotional return and his second start as an opportunity to optimize his performance. He knows that the Pirates will be scouting what made him effective, as well.

The first start was encouraging, but he will need to do it again to prove he belongs in the rotation for a longer stay.

“It’s one of those things where if I look into the analytics of how I was pitching in the minor leagues, it’s like OK, that’s not a surprising outing on paper, but doing it yourself is a whole ‘nother thing, right?” Stock said. “So it’s definitely great and it’s something that I just need to like I have to continue to do it for the rest of the season if I want to get a job next year.”

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Robert Stock ready to prove his worth in long-awaited return to Mets