The St. Louis Cardinals waited until just before Opening Day to make their first MLB signing of the offseason. That move saw them sign Paducah, Kentucky native Phil Maton to a one-year, $2 million deal, allowing him to fulfill a lifelong dream of playing for the team he rooted for growing up. Unfortunately, the Cardinals' early-season struggles make Maton's dream of pitching for the Cardinals one that might end up being very short-lived.
Maton knows the business of baseball better than most, and based on what he told John Denton of MLB.com, he knows he's a prime trade candidate.
“It's a constant reminder that this is baseball and it’s a business,” he said wistfully.
Maton doesn't sound pleased to be mentioned in trade rumors, but again, knows that baseball is a business. With where the Cardinals are right now as an organization, a trade is possible, if not likely.
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Phil Maton knows that dream of playing with hometown team might be short-lived
Since signing his deal, Maton has been everything the Cardinals could've hoped for, if not more. He has posted a 2.63 ERA in 15 appearances and 13.2 innings of work thus far, and has not allowed a single earned run in 14 of his 15 outings. He has six holds and has recorded a save while only blowing one save opportunity. He has been lights out as the primary eighth-inning man pitching in front of All-Star closer Ryan Helsley.
Maton pitching as well as he has early on is a big reason why he has emerged as a realistic Cardinals trade candidate.
After missing the postseason for a second consecutive year, president of baseball operations, John Mozeliak, made it clear that the organization was going to pivot towards retooling. Instead of doing whatever they could to win the World Series, St. Louis would prioritize developing its young talent.
Mozeliak did not make trades over the offseason to open up much playing time for younger players, but those moves could be coming around the trade deadline if the Cardinals are out of contention. While most of the games they've played have been competitive, the Cardinals enter Tuesday's action with a 12-17 record, good for fourth place in a very winnable NL Central division.
Maton is 32 years old and is on a cheap one-year deal. While he's pitched well, he is very clearly not part of the organization's long-term plans. Trading him for younger talent that might be able to help the Cardinals get back to contention in the not-too-distant future could prove to be what's best for the organization, whether he wants to get dealt or not.