Cubs sign former NY Mets player who got overlooked last offseason

Phil Maton was surprised and disappointed when the New York Mets didn’t pick up his 2025 option. Excellent for much of the regular season after the team acquired him in a cash for player swap with the Tampa Bay Rays, a poor finish and lackluster playoff performance had the Mets thinking twice about bringing him back.

He had to wait until March 13 before signing. Maton said the St. Louis Cardinals were the only team who gave him a MLB offer. For just $2 million, or half the price of Ryne Stanek, turned in a noteworthy 2025 performance with St. Louis and later the Texas Rangers.

A 2.79 ERA in 61.1 innings of work with 11.9 K/9, he didn’t get the same treatment this winter. Maton has agreed to a deal with the Chicago Cubs on a 2-year deal with an option for a third year.

The free agent reliever market is moving, but this wasn’t someone who matched the Mets

Dollars haven’t been specified yet for Maton. We can figure it was satisfying enough if he’s signing before Thanksgiving.

For what it’s worth, he did have some of those same misgivings he had with the Mets. A 3.52 ERA after getting dealt, Maton was better in some ways with the Cardinals than he was with the Rangers. Other numbers say he was the victim of some bad luck. A 0.95 WHIP in Texas is outstanding to see. A large reason for his success there was a .179 batting average against him. It seems like everyone who did a hit against him ended up scoring. It’s not much different than the Mets experience. He held batters to a .176 batting average but with a much more attractive 2.51 ERA.

The Cubs were a team last offseason willing to take some chances. Maton isn’t as large of a risk. Two strong seasons in a row, he’s an option to replace standout reliever Brad Keller in their bullpen.

As good as Maton was last year, his $7.75 million option the Mets turned down does seem a bit hefty and based on the market, it was almost 4x as much as they could have gotten away with paying him. Maton proved the other 29 teams who passed on him wrong for doing so as he turned in one of his better recent campaigns. Never a realistic match to return to the Mets beyond just any lingering bitterness, New York’s attention should be squarely on Edwin Diaz and Devin Williams.