Unpacking Phil Maton's multi-year deal: Discover how his elite swing-and-miss stuff and career-best performance make him a crucial bullpen acquisition for the Cubs.
The Chicago Cubs made their first free agent move this offseason.
They signed reliever Phil Maton to a multi-year contract late on Friday night, according to multiple reports. Although the full terms of the deal have yet to be announced, Maton will be under contract for the next two seasons, with the Cubs having a club option for the third year.
This signing came as a surprise, as there were no reports that the Cubs had even expressed interest in Maton. However, this is a fantastic move by Jed Hoyer and the front office to land a reliable bullpen arm this early in the offseason.
The right-hander started the 2025 season with the St. Louis Cardinals before being traded at the deadline to the Texas Rangers. Maton finished with a solid 2.79 ERA and 81 strikeouts across 61 ⅓ combined innings with both of those teams.
What makes Maton such a nice signing for the Cubs is his swing-and-miss stuff. The 32-year-old had a career year on the mound in 2025, led by his elite whiff rate (36.2%) and elite strikeout rate (32.5%). Both of those numbers ranked in the top 5% among all pitchers this past season.
While Maton won’t throw the hardest, his cutter/curveball combination has given hitters fits in recent seasons. Hitters hit just .165 (29-for-175) against those two pitches in 2025, and 77 of his 81 strikeouts came on those two pitches alone.
Those are elite numbers for a pitcher who has been a consistent backend bullpen arm in each of the past three seasons. In 2023, he finished with a 3.00 ERA. In 2024, he had a 3.66 ERA across 71 appearances. Then, he put up the best numbers of his career in 2025.
So, this is a move Cubs fans should love. He has proven he can strike out batters at a high level, and his recent consistency on the mound makes this a massive get for a bullpen that lost many arms to free agency.
More reason to love this deal is that the front office actually gave out a multi-year deal to a reliever. That’s the first time the Cubs have given out a multi-year contract to a bullpen arm since Craig Kimbrel in 2019.
That multi-year deal to Maton really shows that the front office could operate differently this offseason. They could be looking to spend and lock down players for multiple years, especially in the bullpen.
This is definitely a nice first move for the Cubs this offseason. They have started to revamp their bullpen, and Maton is a solid addition following a career year.