Cardinals trade prized asset to cap off one of the offseason's best moves

The St. Louis Cardinals have traded right-handed reliever Phil Maton to the Texas Rangers as part of their sell-off at this year's trade deadline. Maton was one of the Cardinals' best trade chips this year.

In return for Maton, the Cardinals received LHP Mason Molina and RHP Skylar Hales, the Rangers' 27th and 28th ranked prospects, as well as $250k in international signing bonus pool money.

Maton, 32, has been nothing short of superb for the Cardinals this year. He's thrown 38.1 innings across 40 games. He's struck out 48 batters, recorded two saves, and has a 2.35 ERA. His 20 holds place him in the top 10 in the league for that statistic.

Phil Maton has pitched quite well against all batters, as right-handed batters have a .582 OPS against him and left-handed batters have a .608 OPS against him. Maton has struggled a bit more during the month of July due to some loud contact against him — he allowed his first home run of the year this month.

Despite his difficult July, Maton had ample suitors at this year's deadline. The Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, and Los Angeles Dodgers were all in play for his services.

Maton is no stranger to being dealt at the deadline. This is the fourth time in his nine-year career that he's been traded at the deadline.

One of Maton's most redeeming qualities is his postseason experience. He's appeared in the playoffs in 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2024. He has a career ERA of 2.57 through 26 games with 28 strikeouts. That type of postseason experience isn't easy to find.

The St. Louis Cardinals capitalized on one of the best offseason signings by trading Phil Maton at the deadline.

Phil Maton signed a one-year, $2 million deal during spring training with the Cardinals. Maton's role was to be a late-inning reliever and provide experience for a bullpen that would be shuffling through rookies throughout the year. He served his role perfectly, and the Cardinals benefited greatly from his presence in the bullpen.

Last November, I wrote that the Cardinals, who were openly entering a retool during 2025, should target veteran free agents to be flipped at the deadline.

"Part of a rebuild regardless of the route chosen includes acquiring prospects. Organizations can be savvy in this endeavor by signing free agents and then trading them at the deadline. Front offices are essentially "buying" prospects with this path."

Thomas Gauvain

The Cardinals did exactly that with Phil Maton: they signed a veteran reliever, saw him play well, and then flipped him for a prospect to build up the farm system. As a team in a retool, this method of "buying" prospects should become the norm for them.

St. Louis will now look to backfill their bullpen with rookies like Andre Granillo, Gordon Graceffo, and Matt Svanson. The "runway" is now officially open in the bullpen!