Cardinals reliever is out for revenge following free agency snub

For both the St. Louis Cardinals and right-handed reliever Phil Maton, the 2025 season is about proving something to the doubters.

The Cardinals must prove that they can still compete at a high level despite being somewhere between embarking on a youth movement and fielding a viable team. This is a tough balancing act, for playing time is being prioritized for players like Jordan Walker, Masyn Winn, Lars Nootbaar, and Nolan Gorman. However, they also have expensive veterans like Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras potentially taking spots from other young players like Alec Burleson and Thomas Saggese.

For Phil Maton, it's much more personal than that.

St. Louis Cardinals reliever Phil Maton is out for revenge against every team, including the New York Mets, in 2025.

Following the Cardinals' series opener against the Mets in which they lost 4-1, Maton, a former New York Met himself, stayed on the field to visit with former teammates, coaches, and staff members. Maton played with the Mets for the back half of the 2024 season. He had a club option valued at $7.75 million, but the Mets declined the option. Maton received a $250,000 buyout as a result.

Maton should have had plenty of suitors in free agency. He was entering his age-32 season, still a relatively young age for a reliever, and he had just posted a 3.66 ERA in 71 innings in 2024. His second half was even better with a 2.51 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 28.2 innings with New York. His line of interested parties should have been quite long.

Instead, Maton sat on the shelf until March 13th, when the St. Louis Cardinals came knocking on his door looking for a veteran right-handed reliever. It took 134 days for both the Cardinals and Maton to find a dance partner.

When speaking with reporters following Thursday night's game between the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets, Phil Maton spoke about how he's taking his free-agency freeze personally.

"it's personal," said Maton Thursday night after the game. When speaking about the Mets declining his option, Maton added, "(I was) obviously disappointed about it. It is what it is."

Perhaps one reason he wasn't signed until three weeks into Spring Training would be his tough postseason display last year. Maton pitched just 3.2 innings throughout the playoffs, and he allowed two runs, walked walked three batters, and struck out only three. His blown save against the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 2 of the National League Division Series didn't sit well with the Mets or their fans.

Maton is now out to prove his value following a dull free agency. He's off to an excellent start already. He hasn't allowed an earned run through 10 appearances and 9.1 innings pitched. He has a 0.429 WHIP, and his 11 strikeouts are strong, too. If Maton can keep up this level of production, he may find himself at his first career All-Star Game.

The St. Louis Cardinals should be grateful that they nabbed Maton so late in the offseason. He's excelling in his role as a set-up man so far, and he's been able to shoulder the load in the bullpen quite well so far. With the club leaning young, veteran leadership is also imperative. Maton is a proven veteran reliever who can be a steadying force in a young bullpen that includes four players under 30 years old.

2025 is a year for both the Cardinals and Phil Maton to prove the doubters wrong. The latter has done an excellent job thus far at accomplishing his personal goal.