The Chicago Cubs had something of a bullpen exodus after the 2025 season ended.

Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz, Caleb Thielbar, Ryan Brasier, Aaron Civale, Taylor Rogers, and Michael Soroka were all becoming free agents after the 2025 campaign ended, which meant that Jed Hoyer and the rest of Chicago’s front office had its work cut out for it when retooling its relief corps this winter.

Many expect some of these players to re-sign. However, there was no question that Chicago would also add other arms via free agency. And their first such move was announced on November 21, when they signed veteran reliever Phil Maton to a two-year deal, as reported by Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Other reports have noted that the contract includes a club option for a third year.

Maton is fresh off an excellent season, especially after he was traded from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Texas Rangers at last year’s trade deadline. He produced a 2.79 ERA with 81 strikeouts and five saves in 61.1 innings pitched during the 2025 regular season, posting a 1.84 ERA in his last 15 appearances and a 1.42 ERA in his final seven games.

Where Will Phil Maton Slot In to Cubs’ Bullpen?

Given how steady Maton has been over the past three seasons, the Cubs probably expect him to have an important role out of the bullpen in 2026. He could likely assume a similar high-leverage, late-inning role that Brad Keller had last season, assuming that Keller doesn’t re-sign with Chicago.

If Keller does re-sign, then that means he and Maton would likely be the two main bridges from the middle relievers to closer Daniel Palencia.

Maton has been excellent against the Cubs throughout his career, posting a 2.92 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 13 appearances against them, according to StatMuse. This makes it easy to see why Chicago had their eyes on him in free agency and pounced on signing him before Thanksgiving.

It will be interesting to see how Chicago goes about bolstering their bullpen after signing Maton. They still need several more arms and will probably prioritize getting a left-handed reliever that can pitch in late innings. Re-signing Taylor Rogers is an option, or the Cubs try to get other southpaws such as Danny Coulombe or Jalen Beeks.

This signing of Maton also makes it seem like Chicago is content with Palencia as their closer, and probably won’t pursue some of the top relievers available like Edwin Diaz or Robert Suarez.

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