The Rays are finalizing a two-year contract with free-agent left-hander Steven Matz, a provide suggested MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. The membership has not confirmed the deal, which is pending a bodily.
Matz’s first season as a serious reliever was by all accounts successful. The left-hander’s 3.05 ERA in 2025 was his lowest since his six-start debut season with the pennant-winning 2015 Mets (2.27), and it included a stellar stretch after a midseason commerce from the Cardinals to the Pink Sox. After posting a 3.44 ERA in 32 outings with St. Louis, Matz closed the widespread season with a 2.08 ERA in 21 appearances for Boston.
Matz, who turns 35 subsequent May, began a sluggish transition from starter to reliever after signing a four-year, $44 million deal with St. Louis sooner than the 2022 season. The lefty, who started 136 of his 141 video video games sooner than turning into a member of the Cardinals, started 10 of his 15 video video games in 2022, 17 of 25 in 2023 and seven of 12 in 2024. In 2025, though, Matz’s switch to the bullpen grew to develop into principally full time: He started merely twice in 53 appearances, topping out at 5 innings pitched.
The southpaw’s four-pitch arsenal is led by his sinker, which Matz threw 58.4% of the time in 2025, landing him inside the best 10 of qualifying pitchers. Matz’s handiest pitch was his curveball (.197 batting widespread in direction of), whereas his changeup, which has elite vertical drop, moreover seen first price outcomes. Matz’s repertoire moreover contains a little-used slider, which he threw solely 18 events in all of 2025.
The lefty improved considerably on his 5.08 ERA in 44 1/3 innings for St. Louis in 2024 by limiting fly balls and pulled contact. He decrease his 7.9% stroll cost from ’24 by better than half, issuing merely 11 free passes in 76 2/3 innings — a 3.6% stroll cost that ranked fourth amongst MLB hurlers (min. 50 innings pitched). Matz hasn’t had an above-average strikeout cost since 2022, nevertheless he’s nonetheless discovering strategies to get hitters out efficiently.
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