Cubs have secured their proven setup man. Phil Maton's dominant curveball and elite metrics promise high-leverage relief for years to come.
The Chicago Cubs were very active in revamping their bullpen this offseason.
They re-signed Caleb Thielbar to a one-year contract and agreed to Major League deals with five different relievers. Some of those relievers included Hoby Milner, Shelby Miller, Hunter Harvey, and Jacob Webb.
But the team’s biggest bullpen signing in free agency was Phil Maton.
The Cubs agreed to a two-year, $14.5 million deal with the right-hander in late November. That two-year contract marks the first time this front office has given out a multi-year contract to a reliever since Craig Kimbrel signed a three-year deal in 2019.
The front office obviously liked what they saw from Maton to give him that multi-year deal. The North Siders don’t offer those types of contracts often, so the 32-year-old obviously stood out to them.
Maton is going to be a reliable backend bullpen arm for the Cubs in both 2026 and 2027. He is coming off a strong campaign in which he finished with a personal-best 2.79 ERA and 81 strikeouts across 61 ⅓ innings pitched.
His metrics also back up his impressive 2025 season. Maton finished in the 90th percentile or better in expected ERA (2.84), expected batting average against (.195), whiff rate (36.2%), strikeout rate (32.5%), barrel rate (3.6%), and hard-hit rate (30.7%) last year.
Those numbers will play extremely well for the Cubs in the later innings. Despite having an average fastball velocity that ranks in the bottom 3% of the league, Maton has a lethal curveball that hitters have been unable to touch in recent seasons.
In 2025, opposing hitters batted .136 against Maton’s curveball. That pitch had a 41.6% whiff rate to go with a 29.8% putaway rate, and 53 of his 81 strikeouts came on that curveball alone last season.
Maton will be a big part of the Cubs' bullpen this season. He will likely fill that Brad Keller role from a season ago. The right-hander will pitch in a lot of high-leverage spots and will almost certainly be the team’s setup man in the eighth inning.
The Maton signing was definitely one of the front office’s better moves this offseason. He has a history of success on the mound and has looked solid in his five Spring Training appearances.
The nine-year veteran has yet to allow a run across his five innings pitched this spring. He has given up only one hit, four walks, and has punched out four batters in his limited work.
It’s easy to see why the Cubs were willing to offer Maton a two-year deal this offseason.