Mets acquire reliever Phil Maton in trade with Rays for future considerations

NEW YORK —David Stearns has made his first move to try and bolster the Mets' bullpen ranks.

The Mets announced that they have acquired right-handed reliever Phil Maton from the Tampa Bay Rays for either cash or a player to be named later. To make room on the roster, the Mets designated Joey Lucchesi for assignment.

The 31-year-old Maton has thrown 35⅓ innings across 40 appearances for the Rays this season, posting a 1-2 record with 4.58 ERA and 1.33 WHIP with 30 strikeouts and two saves. In his last 11 games, Maton has allowed one earned run in 12 innings while striking out 11 with six hits and one walk while chiseling down his ERA from 7.03 to down under four.

Maton is in his eighth season in Major League Baseball, with part of three seasons with the Astros including their World Series crown in 2022. He posted his best season in 2023 with the Astros, striking out 74 across 66 innings to post a 4-3 record with a 3.00 ERA and 1.12 WHIP.

"This is someone that we targeted and talked to over the offseason," Stearns said. He's been a very consistent reliever, pitching in a high-leverage environment in big games in Houston. Got off to a rougher start this year and we think some of the adjustments he's made over the last month or so, thrown a few more strikes, some usage adjustments has led to some better results, and we're happy to bring him into our pen."

The Mets will pick up the remainder of Maton's one-year, $6.5 million contract, which he signed during the offseason. Maton will join the team on either Wednesday or Thursday, Stearns said.

The bullpen has arguably been the weakest link for the Mets this season. The relief unit is 18th in MLB in ERA (4.13) and 23rd in WHIP (1.33) and home runs per nine innings (1.06). They are also dealing with season-ending injuries to Brooks Raley and Drew Smith.

Maton relies on pitching to weak contact, rather than overpowering hitters. His most-used pitch is his cutter, which averages 88.3 mph, while he mixes in his curveball and sweeper as his second- and third-most used pitches. Maton's 49.5 percent ground-ball rate is in the top 20 percent of the league.

"I think it's a piece that we think today helps our bullpen and helps our team," Stearns said, and we're going to continue to see what is out there and moves that may make sense for us and also continue to learn about our team in the coming weeks."

Stearns said that the Mets are hoping that they can retain the left-handed Lucchesi if he clears waivers. In 15 starts for Triple-A Syracuse this season, Lucchesi is 5-4 with a 4.20 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 63 strikeouts in 83⅔ innings. He allowed five earned runs in his lone major-league start this season. Last season, he was 4-0 with a 2.89 ERA in eight starts for the Mets.

"Anytime you're adding a player to a full 40-man roster, you have to make a difficult decision," Stearns said. "Joey has pitched well at times for this organization, specifically last year. Certainly our hope is we'll be able to retain him, but we'll see what happens."