Cubs reliever Phil Maton still showcasing passion for development in Year 10
SURPRISE, Ariz. — One of the advantages of signing early in the offseason for right-handed reliever Phil Maton was the extra months working with the Cubs’ coaching staff, providing a smooth transition into spring training.
“They've been on top of preparation, from pitch shaping, what do I wanted to do this offseason,” Maton said Monday. “Just been a lot of communication, pretty much, throughout the offseason.”
The two-year, $14 million contract Maton signed in late November was the first multi-year deal the Cubs had completed with a reliever since 2019 (Craig Kimbrel). And it gave Maton a promise of a kind of stability that he hadn’t had in years.
He has pitched for five different organizations in the last three seasons and was traded midseason in each of the last two.
“I’m not really new to new faces and new organizations,” he said. “But from as much as I’ve gathered in these three weeks [in Cubs camp], I feel like we have a good group of guys — guys that get it, guys that put in the work.”
Coming off a promising season with the Cardinals and Rangers in which he dramatically improved his strikeout rate, Maton, who turns 33 in March, is also in that category.
“He spins the ball really well, and that’s his foundation,” manager Craig Counsell said. “But he’s always searching for ‘Is there something else I can add?’ or ‘Is there something else I can get better at?’ That’s never going to stop for him. You can tell by the way his mind works.”
Maton’s latest project is adding a changeup to his repertoire. It isn’t guaranteed to be successful, and he knows that. Plenty of pitchers enter spring training every year thinking they’ve unlocked a new off-speed pitch, only to realize it doesn’t work nearly as well when they’re built up to full velocity. But if Maton can get comfortable enough with the changeup to bring it into the regular season, it should enhance an arsenal that already includes, in order of most use, a curveball, a cutter, a sweeper and a sinker.
Maton describes the new pitch as a modified kick-change. That version of a changeup, which uses seam properties to give it its shape, became the new “it” pitch last year. For several pitchers, including the Cubs’ Jameson Taillon, it was a welcome answer after experimentation with other grips had failed.
For Maton, it’s still a work in progress. When he gets the seam orientation right, it comes out of his unique release point looking like “the sickest pitch in baseball,” he said. But when he doesn’t, it spins out like a hanging slider.
“I don’t really want to go in a game in a big situation, throw that pitch, hope it’s the strikeout one and throw the bad one,” he said.
Regardless of whether the new pitch sticks — and Maton has had plenty of success without it — the effort reflects his commitment to continuing to evolve as he enters his 10th major-league season.
“He takes in information very well, and I think he also can apply that information very well,” Counsell said. “Phil’s got a really good pitching mind — really good pitching mind. And that’s fun to work with.”
The Opening Day bullpen roster appears almost entirely set, with only the last spot in question. Of course, health and performances could change that, and exact roles still have to be ironed out.
But Maton’s experience puts him in posi-tion to make an impact in high-leverage situations. Although the Cubs have several young, home-grown arms, including 2025 closer Daniel Palencia, it’s a largely veteran reliever group.
“We have a lot of guys with unique shapes, unique looks,” Maton said. “But it’s just what guys have done before. They’ve had their periods where they’re throwing great. They’ve had other periods where they’re throwing bad. Just having those older guys creates a little bit more stability throughout the year.”