Sources: Matz goes to Cards, 4 years and $ 44 million

The starting pitcher Steven MatzA key component of a turning season for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021, he agreed to a four-year, $ 44 million deal with the St. Louis Cardinals, pending a physical, sources familiar with the deal told Jeff Passan. , from ESPN, Tuesday night.

Matz could earn up to $ 48 million on the deal and will receive a signing bonus, the sources said.

Matz, a 6-foot-2 left-hander who found his way in the AL East and on a team with a deep starting rotation, often stole the headlines in Toronto this summer. In just one season with the Blue Jays, he was 14-7 with a 3.82 ERA in 29 starts.

He finished with 150 innings of work and 144 strikeouts when Toronto threatened a playoff spot well into the final week of the regular season. The Blue Jays have won six of their last seven starts, and in the last on October 1, Matz – billed as one of the team’s “unsung heroes” by manager Charlie Montoyo – pitched seven innings en route to a victory over Baltimore Orioles. Toronto finished 91-71.

“Looking at this team, I think, ‘Man, this team is so good. We’re so close,'” Matz told reporters in the final week of the season in Toronto. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been on such a good team.”

Matz, 30, a 2009 New York Mets second-round pick, was one of many pitching prospects New York hoped to train as starters, along with Noah syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Matt harvey and Zack wheeler. Matz, a native of New York, seemed destined for success with the Mets, especially after going 4-0 as a rookie in 2015, the same season New York landed in the World Series against the Kansas City Royals.

A string of injury-ridden and inconsistent years followed that magical season in Queens, and Matz ended in a deal with Toronto on January 27. In 2020, his final season with the Mets, Matz finished 0-5 with a 9.68 ERA as he battled shoulder discomfort, eventually being relegated to the bullpen. His two best seasons in New York, in addition to his debut campaign, came in 2016 and 2019, when he combined to go 20-18.

But it wasn’t enough to keep him in Queens, as the Mets sent the veteran, and his $ 5.2 million salary, in exchange for some minor league pitching depth before spring training. The Mets welcomed the right-handers Sean Reid-Foley, Josh Winckowski and Yennsy diaz. Matz got a second chance.

“He’s been one of the forgotten heroes here,” Montoyo said in the final week of the season. “Nobody expected him to pitch like that. Almost every time he comes out, he makes five, six innings and keeps us in the game. It’s been really good. Great, actually. Not good, great.”