On Tuesday, the Mets acquired relief pitcher Phil Maton from the Rays in exchange for cash considerations or a player to be named later.
The Mets will be responsible for the remainder of Maton’s $6.25M salary this season and his club option for $7.75M next season. If they opt to part ways with the Kentucky native after this season, they will be responsible for a $250,000 buyout.
Maton, 31, was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 20th round of the 2015 MLB Draft. He made his MLB debut with the Padres in 2017 and has since pitched for the Guardians, Astros, and Rays across eight seasons.
He is the brother of Nick Maton, a utility player currently with the Orioles organization.
His pitch repertoire includes a cutter, curveball, slider, and sinker.
Throughout his career, Maton has been lauded for his elite curveball. This season, it has averaged 3153 rpm. Furthermore, it has an average of 63.2 inches of vertical drop and 18.5 horizontal inches of break. The average horizontal break on his curveball is 5.5 inches greater than the league average, showcasing the pitch’s deceptiveness.
He is not known for high velocity, with his average fastball velocity coming in at 88 mph this year.
He owns a career 4.28 ERA in 382 1/3 innings as a relief pitcher.
Photo by Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns mentioned that the pursuit of Maton dated back to this past offseason.
“This is someone that we targeted and talked to over the offseason,” he said. “He had been a very consistent reliever – pitching in a high leverage environment and big games in Houston.”
The Mets were not the only team to express interest in Maton last offseason. His 2023 season with the Astros was the best of his career. He pitched 66 innings with 74 strikeouts and a 3.00 ERA. He also performed well in the postseason, appearing in six games and pitching six scoreless innings.
Unfortunately, Maton has not seen the same level of success this season. He has pitched 35 1/3 innings with a 4.58 ERA, 30 strikeouts, 5.63 FIP, and a 1.330 WHIP.
While these statistics do not look promising, Maton has been more effective in his last 11 appearances. In 12 innings, he has allowed six hits, one run, one walk, and struck out 11 opponents. In this stretch, he also has a 2.92 FIP, 62.1 percent ground ball rate, and an average exit velocity of 83.1 mph.
Stearns mentioned Maton’s recent resurgence as a catalyst for the completion of this trade.
“We think some of the adjustments he’s made over the last month or so – throwing a few more strikes, some usage adjustments – have led to some better results and we’re happy to bring him into our ‘pen,” he said.
Photo by Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
Stearns mentioned two key changes Maton has made recently: throwing more strikes and usage adjustments.
While Maton’s 12th percentile 11.8 percent walk rate highlights his command issues this season, he has walked just one batter in his last 11 appearances with a
There is a direct correlation between Maton’s usage adjustments and his decrease in walks and runs allowed.
From the beginning of the season until June 11th (the day before his recent 11-game stretch began), Maton primarily deployed his slider as his first pitch against a new batter. In fact, he used it 43 percent of the time as his first pitch against left-handed batters, and 67 percent of the time against right-handed batters.
However, this was not a successful strategy for Maton against either side. Left-handed batters hit .357 with a 1.071 slugging percentage against it, while right-handed batters hit .318 with a .500 slugging percentage.
He also had trouble locating his slider, as it registered as a ball 34.46 percent of the time.
Consequently, Maton has since reduced his slider usage. Before his June 12th appearance, he used it 26 percent of the time against left-handed batters and 51 percent of the time against right-handed batters. Since then, those figures have dropped to nine percent and 22 percent, respectively.
Both of the extra-base hits Maton has allowed since June 12th have come via the slider. While the pitch is still giving him problems, its decreased usage has lessened its effects.
Maton’s curveball and cutter have been his most effective pitches this season. Opponents are batting just .179 against the cutter and .189 against the curveball. Further, the cutter and curveball feature 28.7 percent and 36.1 percent whiff rates, respectively.
However, his high slider usage before June 12th was getting in the way of these effective offerings.
He now mainly deploys his cutter as the first pitch of an at-bat against both left-handed and right-handed batters. He uses the cutter 74 percent of the time against the left side, while he uses it 39 percent of the time against the right side.
This adjustment has highlighted Maton’s cutter’s effectiveness. In this 11-game stretch, opponents are batting just .083 against it.
Before June 12th, Maton only used his sinker three times the whole season. Since then, he has used it 29 times out of his 159 pitches.
He has used it against right-handed batters, which is now his primary offering against them.
Since its overall usage has increased, Maton has mainly used his sinker when behind in the count against right-handed batters. He previously used his slider at a 56 percent clip in this scenario. However, he has reduced his slider usage to 26 percent when behind in the count and now uses the sinker 47 percent of the time when faced with this situation.
This adjustment has also paid off for Maton, as his sinker has an opposing batting average of just .125.
The main benefit of using the sinker early in the at-bat has been Maton’s ability to showcase his strong curveball. When he reaches a two-strike count, he mainly leans on his curveball, accounting for 19 of his 33 strikeouts on the season.
Whereas his slider was previously preventing him from gaining favorable counts, the sinker has allowed him to bridge the gap between using his cutter at the onset of an at-bat to ending it with his dynamic curveball.
On a practical level, Phil Maton’s addition provides additional insurance to a struggling Mets bullpen. He is a seasoned veteran with postseason experience, and his recent performance suggests that he can turn things around with this change of scenery.
Beyond this, there is a lot to be optimistic about with Maton. While his recent 11-game stretch can be written off due to the small sample size, he has made noticeable changes to his pitch mix that have directly correlated to his success. Specifically, his increased sinker usage and decreased slider usage have paid great dividends for him.
David Stearns has displayed a tendency to be very thorough and accurate in his scouting, and this acquisition could be his newest successful reclamation project.
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