The Mets selected Robert Stock to start against the Marlins on August 2, 2026, bringing him back into a major league game after four months on the minor league injured list. Jonathan Pintaro went to Triple-A Syracuse, Bryce Conley was added to the 40-man roster and Kevin Herget was designated for assignment to clear the way.
For the Mets, the move answers two needs at once: it gives them a starter for the day and opens one more 40-man spot at a moment when the pitching staff is still shifting. AJ Eustace said the club had chosen Stock to take the ball, and the timing made the assignment plain — this was not a long runway back, but a spot start built around one day and one matchup.
Stock’s return carries extra weight because the absence behind it was not a brief detour. He spent four months on the minor league injured list with arterial thoracic outlet syndrome, then worked back through a June rehab assignment at Double-A and later appearances with Syracuse. In that stretch, he posted a 2.91 ERA in 21 2/3 innings, enough for the Mets to trust him with a start even if the plan appears to be a short stay.
The move also pushed another arm off the board. Pintaro had worked in relief this season, but his 4.40 ERA in 14 1/3 innings was not enough to hold his place once Stock was ready and the roster math tightened. Conley, 31, is next in line for a first taste of the majors after a long climb that included time at Double-A and Triple-A and a non-roster deal in spring training. Herget’s exit was the sharpest turn. He had been activated in late June, threw 13 1/3 innings across three levels and even set the Marlins down in order in the top of the ninth inning before the Mets lost 6-2 on August 1, but the club still needed the space more than it needed continuity.
That is the tension inside the transaction. Stock is coming back from a serious arm condition and is being asked to cover a game almost immediately, while Herget, despite recent work and a steady 3.09 ERA in 46 2/3 innings between the Braves and Mets systems last year at Triple-A, is the one sent into roster limbo. If Stock gives the Mets a clean start, the move will look like a timely bridge. If he does not, the club has already shown how quickly it is willing to keep turning over the next arm in line.
