By Jon VankinShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberThe Chicago Cubs approached this season by making bullpen upgrades a high priority. Before the season got underway, Chicago added former Houston Astros closer Ryan Pressly, right-handed setup man Ryan Brasier — who boasted World Series experience with both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox — and middle-relief specialist Eli Morgan from the Cleveland Guardians, who was coming off a season with a 1.93 ERA and 0.976 WHIP.
But by the time the Cubs faced the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Division Series, only one reliever remained from the Cubs' opening day roster. Pressly was designated for assignment at the end of July. Brasier finished the season on the injured list and was omitted from the postseason roster. Morgan suffered an elbow injury in April and never returned.
...Those were just a few of the Cubs' bullpen issues. Somehow, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer managed to keep the relief corps afloat, at least enough that Chicago finished with the 11th-ranked bullpen ERA in MLB at 3.78, the second-best strikeout-to-walk ratio with 2.89) and fourth-best WHIP at 1.23.
Now, according to a report by Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic on Sunday, the Cubs are signing veteran right-handed reliever Phil Maton.
Will Sammon of The Athletic added in a social media post on Friday that the 32-year-old Maton had agreed to a two-year deal with a club option for a third. Finally, longtime MLB insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post on Tuesday reported that Maton's deal is $14.5 million over the first two years, plus a $250,000 per year incentive based on games pitched.
"So good chance to reach $15 million," Heyman reported.
More MLB: Cubs Let $10 Million 2-Time All-Star Walk in Free Agency
That figure represents a substantial raise for Maton, who earned about $2 million this season between stints with the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals.
In the 10th year of his major league career, Maton will be pitching for his eighth club. But if the Cubs are looking for reliability, the veteran who was a San Diego Padres 20th-round draft pick in 2015 brings that, pitching at least 61 innings out of the bullpen in each of the last five seasons.
More MLB: Cubs Add 99 MPH, 6-Foot-5 Righty in Early Offseason Move: Report
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