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Cardinals Sign Former Yankees Southpaw to Minor League Deal

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jayden Pettus | Last updated Jun 4, 2025 3:29 PM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals announced that they have signed left-handed reliever Tyler Matzek to a minor league deal on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old was designated for assignment by the New York Yankees on May 16 after spending nearly a month with the squad, starting on April 22. In 6 1/3 innings pitched across seven outings for the Yankees, Matzek carried a 4.26 ERA, allowing three runs on 11 hits and five walks while striking out seven.

The once-reliable Atlanta Brave has only seen 16 1/3 innings of work on big league mounds since the conclusion of the 2022 season. An October 2022 Tommy John surgery left him out for the entirety of 2023 and the southpaw had trouble bouncing back with the Braves last season.

After heading back to the IL, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants before being released and returning to the Braves organization on a minor league deal but failing to return to the majors before season's end.

Matzek will report to Triple-A Memphis - which has just one other left-handed reliever on the roster - to start his tenure with the Cardinals organization.

He looks to join the likes of Steven Matz, JoJo Romero and John King as a southpaw in the big league 'pen, adding some much-needed reliever depth for the Cardinals in the event of an injury.

Matzek carries a career ERA of 3.73 with 279 strikeouts in 291 2/3 innings across 175 big league appearances. His most notable stretch came in the 2021 postseason, where he was lights out for the World Series-winning Braves, allowing just four runs in 24 1/3 innings across 20 appearances.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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