Kershaw replacement? Dodgers, Red Sox with more teams want Steven Matz

The left handed Steven Matz is emerging as a popular name early in free agency, especially for six teams including the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox.

Matz has received early interest from the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals, Newday’s Tim Healey reports.

Already the Los Angeles Dodgers have signed another left-handed starter who is Andrew Heaney, if they continue to sign Steven Matz then their rotation so far would be Walker Buehler, Julio Urias, Andrew Heaney and Steven Matz, there would be a starter missing and obviously they will go for a right because they are already going to have 3 lefties, Kershaw’s return would be complicated.

The 30-year-old attended GM meetings in California to speak with interested clubs, Healey added.

Matz entered free agency after putting on a solid recovery campaign with the Toronto Blue Jays, posting a 3.82 ERA and 3.79 FIP with 144 strikeouts in 29 starts. It was his best individual season since his rookie year in 2016.

The Angels have consistently struggled on the mound in recent years and are pushing hard for weapons in a bid to end their postseason drought. Halos starters posted the ninth-highest ERA in the majors last season.

In Boston, Matz could be a possible replacement for Eduardo Rodríguez if the Venezuelan leaves this winter. For the Cardinals and Dodgers, it could be located at the rear of their respective rotations to complement some bodies that are already deep.

Toronto decided not to offer him a qualifying offer of $ 18.4 million for one year, which means it is not attached to draft pick compensation. The Blue Jays are interested in re-signing Matz, as they reportedly offered him a multi-year deal early in the offseason.

Matz owns a 4.24 ERA and a 1.32 career WHIP, while averaging 8.6 strikeouts per nine innings in seven major league seasons with the Blue Jays and New York Mets.