The Mets should avoid trading for Steven Matz
Does an argument even need to be made? Steven Matz, while a delightful former member of the Mets, doesn’t need to come back. Hopefully his agent made Steve Cohen angry enough to never explore anything more than a 2015 team reunion in the future.
The Cardinals are shopping Matz and the $12.5 million owed to him in 2025. A deal the Mets were willing to pay prior to the 2022 season, Matz has underperformed during his time with the Cardinals. Often hurt and when healthy unproductive, the only reason he hasn’t been released is because few owners like to have dead money on the books.
Matz has been shoved into the Cardinals bullpen at some point in each of these three years with the team. At 10-12 with a 4.47 ERA overall, he has been unable to avoid the IL throughout his St. Louis tenure. Less than 50 innings pitched in 2022 and again in 2024, his 105 frames logged in 2023 is a positive outlier and yet far too little for what the original expectation was.
There is no way in the world the Mets can possibly trade for Matz (unless it’s to dump his salary immediately) so worry not. An exciting rookie for the 2015 Mets has become a veteran whose abilities have faded. Where has the last decade gone?