5 small moves the Cardinals made that are leading to their turnaround in 2025

#5 - Signing Phil Maton

Last but not least, let's talk again about the Cardinals' lone free agent signing this offseason — Phil Maton.

Maton, who the club brought in with just a few weeks left in spring training, has been an excellent signing for the club, posting a 3.38 ERA in 18 appearances so far. While Maton has not been quite as dominant on the mound as he was to start the year, his presence in the bullpen helped the Cardinals weather a rocky start to their year, and now that the rest of the group around him has stablized, he's helped fill a gaping hole that was left by the departure of Andrew Kittredge this offseason.

Maton, along with Kyle Leahy and JoJo Romero, has acted as a bridge for the Cardinals to get them to Helsley in the ninth inning. The Cardinals hoped Ryan Fernandez would be a part of that equation as well, but he blew up to the tune of an 11.42 ERA, costing them multiple games in April and forcing Mozeliak and Marmol to shuffle their options.

Without Maton, the Cardinals' season may have already been off the railroad tracks by now. With Maton, he helps form a strong back end of the bullpen alongside Helsley, Leahy, and Romero, and it sounds like both Matz and Gordon Graceffo will be high-leverage options moving forward as well.

Since Fernandez's last outing on April 23rd and subsequent demotion to Memphis, the Cardinals' bullpen ranks fifth in all of baseball with a 2.39 ERA and fourth in wOBA allowed (.267). While they rank dead last in K/9 over that stretch (6.9), they make up for it by having the third-lowest batting average allowed and the second-highest left-on-base percentage in the game.

Do I expect this run of form to continue? Not this well, but I do think this group has proven it is better than we thought it was to begin the year. The Cardinals' bullpen will continue to be shuffled throughout the year, but I believe it has the pieces necessary to be a good unit, and Marmol knows how to deploy it well.