Ex-Mets reliever taking lack of free agency suitors 'personal'

Former Mets reliever Phil Maton didn't receive a major league contract offer until March, when he signed with St. Louis.

Mar 29, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Phil Maton (88) pitches against the Minnesota Twins during the ninth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

For the third consecutive series, the New York Mets face a member of the 2024 team wearing the opponent’s uniform. 

They tallied four hits and pushed across one run over 5.2 innings against current A’s pitcher Luis Severino in Sunday’s 8-0 victory. Then, they gave up five hits and a pair of RBIs to Harrison Bader over their final two games against the Minnesota Twins. Now, they are in the midst of a four-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals, who feature Phil Maton in their bullpen. 

Maton, 32, posted a 2.51 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, and 9.4 K/9 rate in 28.2 regular-season innings after joining the Mets in a midseason trade with the Tampa Bay Rays last year. Despite his career success, the veteran right-hander had to wait until March 13 to receive his first major-league contract offer in free agency.

Now, he is determined to get revenge against 29 other teams—including the Mets. 

“Every team we play—it is what it is, it’s personal,” Maton told Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post in an exclusive interview. He also revealed that he heard from the Mets only once during the offseason, when president of baseball operations David Stearns informed him that the team would not pick up his $7.75 million option. 

So ridiculous Maton was virtually ignored in free agency (likely due to velocity). 2025 stats: 10 games, 0 runs, 0.00 ERA, 0 walks, 11 K’s — “It’s personal,” he tells @MarkWSanchez https://t.co/hDZr50wj7m

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) April 18, 2025

Over his first eight MLB seasons, Maton posted a 4.16 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and struck out 25.9% of batters, despite his velocity topping out at around 90 mph. He has appeared in 65 games or more in each of the previous four seasons. 

Maton is heavily reliant on movement and control, leaning on a five-pitch repertoire to get outs. But as seen during last year’s postseason, when he gave up four home runs in 6.1 innings, lack of velocity leaves little room for mistakes—a style of play some teams were seemingly disinterested in. 

“Teams kind of seemed vocal that they’d rather have guys that throw hard than [a pitcher with] durability or consistency,” Maton said. His cutter averaged just 88.7 mph in 2024, but still limited opponents to a .217 slugging percentage and generated a +5 run value, according to Statcast. 

Phil Maton locked it down in the 9th 🔒@moderna_tx | #LGM pic.twitter.com/4iCPjNBcOK

— New York Mets (@Mets) September 3, 2024

So far, his lone MLB offer—a one-year, $2 million contract—appears to be a bargain for St. Louis. Through his first 9.1 innings with his hometown team, Maton has 11 strikeouts and has yet to allow a run. 

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Instead of bringing back Maton, the Mets re-signed Ryne Stanek and added left-hander A.J. Minter to anchor their late-inning mix. The emergence of right-hander Max Kranick (1.54 ERA and 0.51 WHIP in 11.2 innings) has also played a huge role in their early-season success. Entering Friday, New York’s bullpen ranks first in MLB with a 2.30 ERA.