I’ve been dragging you through too many long-form slogs lately, so let’s see if we can’t cut a few calories this time around. The Cubs made a few moves on Friday, opting not to tender contracts to backup catcher Reese McGuire and injured reliever Eli Morgan. Then they signed well-traveled righty reliever Phil Maton to a two-year deal, the terms of which are not yet known.
This isn’t the multiyear reliever contract I’d have pegged, but the 32-year-old Maton has consistently put up big strikeout numbers while keeping the ball in the yard for the most part. That he does it without much of a fastball is interesting enough to keep me from complaining about him barely throwing 90. Maton ditched his four-seam back in 2023 with the Astros, opting instead for a cutter/curve/sweeper mix with the occasional sinker.
That latter pitch was up to a career-high 12.0% last season with the Cardinals and Rangers, though he only threw it at a 10.2% clip following his trade to Arlington. No stranger to mid-season trades, Maton has played for two different teams in four of his nine MLB seasons as either a hired gun or a reclamation project. He’s made at least 63 appearances with over 61 innings pitched in each of the last five seasons and is familiar with late-game situations.
I was very pleasantly surprised by Maton’s Baseball Savant sliders, which are almost all bright red with some obvious exceptions. The walk rate is a bit troublesome, but he makes up for it by missing barrels as well as anyone. If he keeps spinning the hell out of his riding cutter and sweeping curve, the Cubs should have themselves a very reliable bullpen arm.
The first thing that stands out to me is the two-year guarantee with a club option for a third, which is something the Cubs have actively avoided when building their bullpen. That could signal a willingness to spend more meaningfully on the whole, but it may also mean they know Brad Keller is gone. Of all the arms they lost, Keller was by far the most likely to be brought back for more than one season. However, drawing interest as a starter means he could very well price himself out of the Cubs’ market.
That most likely means Daniel Palencia will be given the closing duties once again, though he might have gotten the role regardless of Keller’s fate. So is the Maton signing basically a reallocation of funds earmarked for Keller or a sign that Jed Hoyer’s got a bigger budget for winter payroll additions?
About the Cubs being “stunned” by Imanaga’s decision…
Longtime sports media member George Ofman tweeted earlier in the week that he was told the Cubs were “stunned” by Shota Imanaga‘s acceptance of the qualifying offer, calling it a “major blunder.” He added that it “Hampers their offer season [sic] spending plans.” That seems way off base, as it was always a strong possibility that the lefty was going to accept given his performance and the penalties to other teams for signing him had he rejected it.
This strikes me as the kind of thing shared by someone who either has no idea what they’re talking about or who has an agenda to push. Not Ofman, but the person he heard it from. And since Ofman has been around for a while, he’s probably got a good idea of who knows what. That leaves the strong possibility of an agenda, and it doesn’t take much of a leap to see how a report like this could be used to spin a narrative of financial inflexibility.
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Between their notoriously tight lips and the fact that this casts aspersions on the front office, I highly doubt it came from Hoyer’s camp. My suspicion is someone in business operations is at the center of it, same as with the stuff about Kris Bryant turning down a big extension offer. Though I’m only speculating here, Ofman’s next tweet sure seems to support my theory.
Cubs currently have around $190 mil. The tax threshold is $244. They don’t want to exceed it. Think that’s enough for a top free agent pitcher, hitter, bullpen help, arbitration cases & perhaps paying PCA? & you’ll need $ at the trading deadline. Creative trades? S.Alcantara?
— George Ofman (@georgeofman) November 20, 2025
The Cubs haven’t always been great with their public messaging, and this wouldn’t be the first time biz ops has painted the front office into a corner. I guess we’ll just have to see what the rest of the winter looks like.
Interesting Non-Tenders
Former Cubs Mike Tauchman and Mark Leiter Jr. were among the non-tenders yesterday, as were a pair of Rangers. Both catcher Jonah Heim and slugging outfielder Adolis García were let go as Texas looks to trim payroll following several monster signings ahead of that 2023 World Series run. I suppose Heim isn’t that big of a surprise after posting consecutive negative-fWAR seasons with subpar offensive production and flagging defense.
García, on the other hand, has flashed prodigious power and a big arm when healthy. The problem is that he’ll turn 33 in early March and, as I understand it, wore out his welcome due to an attitude and work ethic that maybe weren’t viewed fondly by team leadership. The bat will earn him another shot, but you have to wonder whether he’ll ever come close to his ’23 production again.
Coaching Carousel Spins
- Former Cubs hitting coach Anthony Iapoce is now an assistant hitting coach with the Astros after being let go as the Tigers’ first base coach.
- Former Cubs catching coach Craig Driver, who left for a similar role with the Dodgers, is joining the Marlins as their first base coach.
- Former Cubs great Travis Jankoswki has been named the Rangers’ first base coach.
- Brady Anderson, who has never held an MLB coaching position and hasn’t worked in affiliate ball since his time in the Orioles’ front office ended over five years ago, was hired by the Angels as their new hitting coach. His assistant will be former Cubs legend John Mabry.
Task Review
I had been circling this HBO series for a while before finally diving in last week. Task is a propulsive drama with a strong cast, excellent writing, and layered plots that dovetail like Amish woodwork. The fierce devotion to the Delco accent felt a little forced at times, but I appreciate the attempt at verisimilitude. It was actually a little like Charlie Hunnam barely concealing his British accent on Sons of Anarchy, a show to which Task bears several similarities.
What really drove it home for me was the central thread of guilt and forgiveness that revealed itself in various iterations across the series. The characters were all deeply flawed, which is how life actually works, and not every thread was tied into a perfect bow. I found the seven-episode arc highly satisfying, though I was also left wanting more. Guess that’s why HBO announced this week that it’s been renewed for a second season.
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The post The Rundown Lite: Cubs Sign Maton, Excuse or Smokescreen, Interesting Non-Tenders, Familiar Names in Coaching Carousel appeared first on .