MLB Rumors: Ranking 3 relievers Cardinals have been connected to

2. Phil Maton is a budget-friendly answer for the Cardinals

In comparison to the highs that Brasier has shown in his career, Phil Maton doesn't hold a candle to him. Spending the last 2.5 seasons with the Houston Astros, the 30-year-old has never been an elite arm out of the bullpen in really any full season since making his MLB debut back in 2017 with the San Diego Padres.

Especially after arriving with Houston, though, Maton more than proved himself to be a solid bullpen option for a winning ball club.

Over just under three full seasons with the Astros and while making 162 appearances, Maton posted a 3.67 ERA and 1.255 WHIP with a 4.04 FIP in his time with Houston. That's not anything that's going to cause an MLB team to back the Brinks truck up to his back door, but it is a stat line that could be useful in the Cardinals bullpen.

As St. Louis tries to fill out the margins of the bullpen, they have been connected to Maton several times throughout the offseason, as noted by Woo for The Athletic, and continue to be as well. Amid the flamethrower Ryan Helsley, Giovanny Gallegos, and other groundball-type pitchers, Maton could be a great change-up as a reliever (so to speak).

His velocity is nothing to write home about, but his ability to miss bats and not allow hard contact absolutely is. Especially if we see the hoped-for improvement from the Cardinals defense, he could be a stud for this bullpen and potentially be geared up for a career year in that sort of situation.