Steven Matz and the St. Louis Cardinals are in agreement on a 4-year, $44 million contract.
With incentives, he can receive up to $48 million. He will also receive a signing bonus, Jeff Passan of ESPN reported.
The Mets were one of the eight teams rumored to be interested in the lefty. Boston, Toronto, Detroit, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis, San Francisco, and Los Angeles Angels made up the other seven.
Joel Sherman of the NY Post believed Matz deal would land near the 3-year, $36 million contract Anthony DeSclafani received from the Giants. He gets one year more and one fewer million per season.
The former Met is coming off a much-needed bounce back season. He posted his lowest ERA since 2016, at 3.82, with the Blue Jays, and immediately became a desirable arm for most rotations. While his strikeout numbers were on par with the rest of his career, Matz was able to get his walks down in 2021. His 43 walks was his lowest in a full season since 2016, which was the best season of his career.
Matz, a Ward Melville graduate, was with the Mets from 2009 when they drafted him until January 2021 when the Mets traded him to Toronto. It was one of the first major moves the Mets made with Steve Cohen made, moving on from a pitcher that had spent six seasons in Queens and over a decade in the organization.
Matz was traded to Toronto for right-handed pitchers Josh Winckowski, Sean Reid-Foley, and Yennsy Diaz. The latter two each made significant relief appearances for the Mets in 2021.
The reunion makes sense for the Mets, now needing stable arms and a lefty pitcher. GM Billy Eppler already made an offer for the southpaw.
Aside from Adam Wainwright and Jack Flaherty, the Cardinals rotation is up in the air. As of right now, Matz would likely be their three-starter on opening day. As the Cardinals seek to improve and fight in the NL Central, it is probable they will target more starting pitching this winter.
