The New York Mets have created an inordinate amount of space on their 40-man roster. In fact, after the tender deadline, the Mets have just 28 players on that roster.
So, there is plenty of room for new president of baseball operations David Stearns to make his mark in his first offseason at the helm.
The Mets have plenty of needs this offseason, and the bullpen is among them. The Mets should get their closer, Edwin Díaz, after he missed all of 2023 due to an injury. The Mets also have a left-hander in Brooks Raley and a right-hander in Drew Smith, the latter of which the Mets reportedly dangled on the trade market.
After that? The Mets should be looking. One name that the team could be examining is Astros reliever Phil Maton, per The Athletic.
Maton, a right-hander, has been one of the Houston Astros’ most reliable options for the past three seasons. With the Astros he is 8-5 with a 3.67 ERA in 162 appearances. He handled a high volume and helped the Astros win the 2022 World Series.
He’s 30 years old with 347 career innings and a 16-12 record. He has just two career saves and the Astros deployed him as a set-up man for Ryan Pressley. And he was reliable, as he had 26 holds with the Astros and has 46 for his seven-year career.
Maton has a solid pitch makeup and a lower arm slot. Per Statcast he was among the top percentiles in weak contact.
He probably won’t bust the budget either. Maton made $2.5 million in 2023, which was his final arbitration season. As he hits free agency, his services might get him double that, but likely not more.
To add some intrigue to this, the Mets are set to hire former Astros executive Kris Gross to be their vice president of amateur scouting. That means he’s watched Maton for three seasons and can provide some intel.
For a Mets team that needs to remake its bullpen, Maton would be a building block worth investigating.
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