The option was for $7.75 million. The Mets will instead pay Maton a $250,000 buyout.
The Mets have declined Phil Maton’s $7.75 million team option for 2025, according to reports. Instead, the Mets will pay the 31-year-old righty a $250,000 buyout and he will become a free agent.
The Mets acquired Maton in trade from the Tampa Bay Rays in early July for a player to be named later or cash, as David Stearns worked to shore up a beleaguered bullpen at the deadline. Maton had a mediocre season with the Rays, posting a 4.58 ERA in 40 appearances, but had been showing improvement in his recent outings right before the trade, which piqued the Mets’ interest. He turned his 2024 around with the Mets in a big way, putting up a sparkling 2.51 ERA in 31 games down the stretch, quickly working his way into Carlos Mendoza’s inner circle of trust in a bullpen that was desperately searching for answers for a bridge to Edwin Díaz.
However, after holding a career 0.83 ERA in the postseason, mostly with the Astros, Maton faltered in October this year. His struggles began in Game 2 of the Wild Card round when he entered the game in the eighth inning with the Mets up by a run and surrendered two home runs, resulting in a 5-3 loss. All told, Maton pitched to an ugly 8.53 ERA in 6 1⁄3 postseason innings this season, which unfortunately is what will likely stick in Mets fans’ minds more than his second half regular season performance.
Maton’s $7.75 million team option certainly made him an interesting edge case for being in the mix for the 2025 bullpen. That amount is about the going rate for relievers of his quality on the free agent market these days, but paying that amount to a 7th inning guy does not fit the mold of how David Stearns likes to build bullpens. The Mets declining Maton’s option reveals that they likely think they can get more bang for their buck elsewhere.