The St. Louis Cardinals signed their first Major League free agent on Thursday, agreeing with relief pitcher Phil Maton. Maton spent 2024 with the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Mets, finishing the season with a 3.66 ERA in 71 appearances.
The 31-year-old Maton came up through the Padres organization and made his MLB debut in 2017. A well-traveled reliever, he's bounced between the Guardians, Astros, Rays and ultimately the Mets last season before landing in St. Louis for 2025. Maton was a member of the 2022 World Series Champion Houston Astros, an integral piece of their bullpen.
Opening last season in Tampa Bay, Maton saw his ratio stats decline from previous years. After being moved to the Mets on July 9, he rebounded for a strong finish to the season in Queens: in 31 games, he put together a 2.51 ERA, while seeing his K/9 jump back up to 9.4--closer to his career average of 10.0.
Following the loss of Andrew Kittredge to the Baltimore Orioles over the winter, the Cardinals' triple threat needed another arm to round out the trio alongside Ryan Helsley and JoJo Romero. With Helsley’s high heat and Romero's ability to induce weak contact on the ground, Maton will present a nice complement; his fastball velocity is well below league average, yet he still misses barrels from the right side.
Maton saw success against both sides of the plate in 2024 but was significantly better against left-handed hitters. He held lefties to a .182 batting average, which was nearly 40 points lower than the .220 mark that right-handers compiled against him.
Over the course of his career, Maton has had relatively equal success against hitters from either side of the plate. Watch for the Cardinals to slot him into the set-up discussion front of Helsley, along with Romero depending on matchups and availability on a given night.
Cleaning up the 40-man roster to make room for Maton, the Cardinals designated LHP Bailey Horn for assignment. Easy come, easy go.
We have signed RHP Phil Maton to a one-year contract.
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) March 13, 2025
Maton had a 3.66 ERA in a combined 71 games for the Mets and Rays in the 2024 season. pic.twitter.com/68M8I6HNoh
In another move Thursday, the Cardinals optioned Gordon Graceffo to minor league camp. This likely means that Graceffo will slot back into the Memphis rotation to begin the regular season.
Graceffo appeared in four games this spring and while he struck out hitters three times more than he walked them, he will exit Major League camp with an elevated 6.75 ERA.