Cubs Signing Reliever Phil Maton

The Cubs are signing right-handed pitcher Phil Maton, as first reported by Michael Cerami of Bleacher Nation. Will Sammon of the Athletic provided contract details, reporting that it’s a two-year deal with a team option for the third year.

RHP Phil Maton and the Chicago Cubs are in agreement on a two-year guarantee with a club option for a third year, league source said. (@Michael_Cerami first reported Maton going to Chicago.)

— Will Sammon (@WillSammon) November 22, 2025

Maton is coming off the best year of his career, during which he split time between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers. The 32-year-old posted a 2.79 ERA with a 3.04 xFIP and a 1.06 WHIP. His cutter averages just 90.6 mph, but nearly seven feet of extension helps make up for the lower velocity.

He features a four-pitch arsenal: curveball, cutter, sweeper, and sinker, with the first two being his most commonly used pitches. Maton excels at limiting hard contact, carrying a 30.7 percent hard-hit rate that ranks among the best in baseball. He strikes out 32.5 percent of the batters he faces, but walks were a significant issue for him during the 2025 campaign.

There are many intriguing aspects of his game that we will have time to examine throughout the offseason, but it is encouraging that Jed Hoyer and the Cubs front office have given fans a solid signing before the winter meetings have even begun. The 2023–2024 offseason saw Cubs fans grow more eager with each passing day as the team became one of the few organizations without any free-agent transactions entering the new year. Brian Serven was claimed off waivers by the Cubs a few days after the year began, but it still took a while for them to make a legitimate move.

An interesting note is that although he was born in Kentucky, Maton attended high school in Chatham, Illinois, which is only a three-hour drive from Chicago.