The New York Mets have been open about their desire to add to their bullpen. The team took one step toward doing exactly that on Tuesday by acquiring Phil Maton from the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Mets expect Maton to join the team Wednesday or Thursday. They designated pitcher Joey Lucchesi for assignment to make room for Maton on the roster.
In return, the Rays will receive a player to be named later or cash considerations.
Club president David Stearns said that the Mets will take on what remains of Maton's one-year, $6.5 million contract, according to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. Maton also has a team option for next year worth $7.75 million.
Maton, a righty reliever, has appeared in 40 games for the Rays this season, striking out 30 in 35.1 innings with a 4.58 ERA. That might not be much to admire, but Maton has also pitched to a 0.75 ERA over his past 11 appearances dating back to June 12. Opponents are hitting .150 off him in that time with a .171 average on balls in play.
“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,” Stearns told reporters on Tuesday.
Maton's 2024 walk percentage of 11.8% is the highest of his career. Over his last 11 games, however, he has walked just one batter. He has also pitched to a 62.1% ground ball percentage in that time.
Stearns added that the Mets originally targeted Maton last offseason before he ultimately signed with Tampa.
It's the second trade for a reliever that the Mets have made in the past week. New York acquired Matt Gage from the Dodgers on Sunday and assigned him to Triple-A Syracuse.
Phil Maton trade provides depth to Mets bullpen
The season-long numbers will show that the Mets' bullpen is right around league average. Their 4.13 bullpen ERA ranks 16th in the Majors, but that's misleading. The team lost Drew Smith to a season-ending injury in June, and since the start of July, the Mets' bullpen has a 9.41 ERA.
To be fair, some of that is due to closer Edwin Diaz's 10-game suspension for “sticky stuff.” He returned on July 6 and has pitched 2.1 scoreless innings since then.
Adrian Houser and Eric Orze gave up three runs each in in the team's loss on Sunday to the Pirates. The day before, Dedniel Núñez gave up two in the Mets' win. Adam Ottavino and Jake Diekman, who, along with Reed Garrett, make up the core of the team's middle relief strategy,, have both been inconsistent.
The good news for the Mets is that they're buying low on Maton, a guy who was a critical piece to the Houston Astros' bullpen last year. In 2023, he had a ground ball rate of just under 43% and struck out more than 10 batters per nine innings.
If Maton recaptures his old form, it would go a long way toward helping the Mets secure a playoff spot. Headed into play on July 9, New York is 44-45. That puts them 2.5 games out of the NL Wild Card hunt.
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