The Cardinals have finally made their first free agent signing of the offseason

It took them 134 days to do so, but the St. Louis Cardinals have finally signed a free agent to a major-league contract. They were the final team to do so in Major League Baseball.

It was announced early Friday that the Cardinals agreed to a one-year deal with right-handed reliever Phil Maton. Maton, who turns 32 on March 25th, most recently played for the New York Mets and Tampa Bay Rays in 2024. He threw 64 innings between the two teams, and he finished the season with a 3.66 ERA, 4.26 FIP, and 60 strikeouts for a 110 ERA+. He also logged a career-high 18 holds, and he was excellent for the playoff-bound Mets, posting a 2.51 ERA with 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings after the trade deadline.

Maton is a veteran of the game, and the Cardinals will be the sixth team of his career. St. Louis has been searching for veteran relief help all offseason, and they got their guy in the form of Phil Maton. After letting Andrew Kittredge walk in free agency, it's been one of John Mozeliak's goals all offseason to replace Kittredge's production late in games.

For his career, Phil Maton has a 4.16 RA and a 1.292 WHIP to go along with 458 strikeouts in 411 innings.

The Cardinals bullpen was one of the bright spots for the team last year thanks primarily to the trio of JoJo Romero, Kittredge, and All-Star and MLB saves leader Ryan Helsley. Maton should be a suitable replacement for Kittredge.

Phil Maton is no stranger to high-leverage situations. While he has only five saves to his name for his career, he's often been used late in games. In high-leverage situations for his career, hitters have battted .271 with a .770 OPS. He has faced 390 batters in these situations.

Maton will add to an already strong bullpen that features Romero, Helsley, Matthew Liberatore, and John King. Players like Gordon Graceffo, Roddery Munoz, Kyle Leahy, Chris Roycroft, and Nick Anderson will be fighting for one of the final spots in the bullpen.

In order to make space on the 40-man roster, offseason minor-league signing Bailey Horn was designated for assignment. Phil Maton will wear #88.