Left-hander Steven Matz and the St. Louis Cardinals are in agreement on a four-year, $44 million contract, pending physical, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN. Matz is coming off a career-best season and has a chance to get to $48 million and will receive a signing bonus.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 24, 2021
Matz drew plenty of interest in the free agent market, and ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that Matz has signed a four-year, $44M deal with the Cardinals. The deal could get to $48M with incentives.
Matz will join a Cardinals’ rotation that already includes Jack Flaherty and Adam Wainwright. Flaherty was limited to just 78 1/3 innings last season, but he remains one of the best young pitchers in baseball. Wainwright had an excellent year last season at 39 years old, pitching to a 3.05 ERA.
Matz was a reliable innings-eater last season with the Blue Jays. He made 29 starts and pitched to a 3.82 ERA and 3.79 FIP. Health has been an issue for Matz at times, but he’s thrown at least 150 2/3 innings in each of the last three full seasons. He’s a solid addition to the Cardinals’ rotation, but the team is still expected to look for upgrades to their pitching staff.
The Mets, Cubs, Red Sox, and Blue Jays were the other “finalists†for Matz, and Mets’ owner Steven Cohen expressed his displeasure with the situation on Twitter. He believed that the Mets would have a chance to match the offer Matz received from the Cardinals, but MLB Networks’ Jon Heyman reports that Matz had a “late change of heart.â€
The Cardinals are listed at +1800 to win the 2022 World Series on FanDuel Sportsbook.
