The Chicago Cubs added some bullpen help Friday, agreeing to a two-year contract with right-hander Phil Maton, a source told Will Sammon of The Athletic.
Terms of the deal, which contains a 2028 club option, have not been reported.
Maton split last season between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers. He posted a 2.79 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and 81 strikeouts over 61 1/3 innings between the two clubs.
The 32-year-old has put together a nice nine-year career despite bouncing around in recent seasons, as the Cubs represent his fifth organization since 2023. Maton owns a 3.15 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 10.1 K/9, 0.8 HR/9 in 202 games over the last three seasons.
While Maton doesn't light up the radar gun - his cutter averaged 90.6 mph last season - he managed to rank 99th percentile in average exit velocity and hard-hit rate, 98th percentile in whiff rate, and 95th percentile in strikeout rate, per Baseball Savant. Maton did post a 3.38 BB/9 but countered that by posting the 14th-best HR/9 (0.44) among qualified relievers.
Maton's signing represents the first major addition to a Cubs' bullpen that's seen a number of departures to open the offseason. Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz, Caleb Thielbar, and Ryan Brasier are free agents, while Andrew Kittredge was traded to the Baltimore Orioles.
