Maton answers the call to fortify bullpen
Once considered ‘project,’ newly acquired reliever can utilize three breaking pitches
SAN FRANCISCO — Phil Maton missed two calls to avoid missing the bus.
The reliever rushed out of a Chicago hotel room while the Indians’ final bus neared its departure for Guaranteed Rate Field. Before he boarded, Maton looked down at his cellphone. Two calls from general manager Mike Chernoff went unanswered.
“Ah,” Maton thought. “Might as well take my time because I’m probably going somewhere.”
Maton slowed down and sought the general manager. He did not need to take the bus. An airplane to San Francisco to join the Astros awaited. Cleveland shipped Maton and catching prospect Yanier Diaz to the Astros in exchange for Myles Straw, completing the most surprising deal of James Click’s first true trade deadline.
The Indians’ bullpen had playful banter all week about possible trades. Cleveland vacillated between contender and pretender in an American League Central where the White Sox have taken control. Maton and most of his teammates presumed Chernoff would part with Nick Wittgren or Bryan Shaw if the club chose to sell.
“We were kind of giving them a hard time every night like, ‘When are we going to trade you guys. We’re sick of seeing you in the bullpen,’ ” Maton said. “Now, of course, I got all the crap from them now once I got traded. They’ve been wearing me out a little bit.”
Maton fits the Astros’ mold in almost every way. He has the tools to generate swing and miss — something the bullpen clearly needs. Maton loves studying analytics and advanced metrics. Houston could adjust some of his pitch usage and locations to capitalize on some strong peripherals. Maton’s 4.57 ERA is unsightly.
A 3.13 fielding independent pitching (FIP) and .356 batting average on balls in play suggest poor luck is at least partially to blame. Maton finished his two seasons in Cleveland with a 4.30 ERA but a 2.99 FIP.
“I was kind of a project when I showed up to them from the Padres,” said Maton, whom Cleveland acquired from San Diego in 2019. “They put a lot of work and investment into me and I feel like I’m starting to see the fruits of their labor. I’m just really excited to help this team now. The only thing that matters now is winning games.”
Maton said he only maxed out at 88 mph upon arrival in Cleveland. His four-seam fastball averaged 91.7 mph this season with elite spin. Coaches gave Maton direction on syncing his lower half and controlling his movement down the mound.
“Going from one analytical organization to another,” Maton said, “I’m extremely excited to be here and help this team win.”
Maton throws three breaking pitches: a cutter, slider and curveball. He uses both the slider and curveball equally, but most of his strikeouts come against the curve.
Maton’s cutter has been a work in progress all season, but could perform well against righthanded hitters. Maton’s spin rate on both his four-seamer and curveball is among the sport’s elite. Maton generates a 37.9 whiff rate, too. The league average is 24.5.
“I manipulate the baseball a lot out of the hand and do a lot of weird stuff going down the mound,” Maton said. “It’s just kind of day to day. Some days the curveball is better; some days the slider is better; some days I don’t have either and just try to throw the fastball by guys.”