Domino 5: Steven Matz

The fifth domino of the 2021-2022 MLB offseason starting pitching market has fallen. Steven Matz has picked his 2022 team. It was rumored that Matz had roughly 8 offers in hand, some single year and some multi year contracts, and would have his pick of the group. Matz settled on the St. Louis Cardinals offer of 4 years, $44M. This is interesting because I would be surprised to read that many other teams offered a contract of this length. I personally would have expected Matz to sign a 2, maybe 3 year contract with a higher AAV. Instead, he takes a modest $11M AAV over a lengthy 4 years. Matz is 30 years old and has been a semi-consistent starter over his career. 2021 was another good season for him, posting a 2.0 WAR by way of a 14-7 record with a 3.82 ERA over 29 starts. Matz will be missed in Toronto, who will have to look to find a starter to fill his role. He will slot in behind Jack Flaherty and Adam Wainwright in the Cardinals rotation and will look to be a key part of their season.

The Red Sox were rumored to have been in on Matz, and at the price he signed at, it is disappointing to see that they did not pull the trigger on him.

The biggest loser of this deal is the Blue Jays, who just lost a starter from their rotation and also seem to have lost him due to an unwillingness to give him a reasonable salary. Also keep an eye on the Yankees, Dodgers, and Mets, who all need starting pitching badly.

Arturo Pardavila III from Hoboken, NJ, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons