The Texas Rangers made three additions to their elite pitching staff at the trade deadline, and the final one happened in the 11th hour.
Just before the 5 p.m. CT trade deadline, Chris Young netted the Rangers one more boost to the bullpen in Cardinals RHP Phil Maton. The 32-year-old reliever has a 2.35 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 40 appearances for St. Louis so far in 2025.
Maton has bounced around the league since his debut in 2017, spending time with the Padres, Indians, Astros, Rays, Mets, Cardinals and now the Rangers. While he has a 4.01 career ERA, he’s in the midst of his best season yet and should give Bruce Bochy another solid option out of the bullpen.
Here are five things to know about the Rangers’ newest reliever.
Rangers
1. The basics
Name: Phillip Louis Maton
Born: March 25, 1993 in Paducah, Ky.
Ht.: 6-2 Wt.: 206 lb
Throws: Right
College: Louisiana Tech
Draft: 20th round, 2015 (San Diego Padres)
2. How the Rangers landed him
In the Rangers’ last-minute deal with the Cardinals for Maton, they sent 2023 fourth-round pick Skylar Hales, 2024 seventh-round pick Mason Molina and $250,000 in international money to St. Louis.
Maton joined Twins left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe and Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly to form the Rangers’ trio of deadline additions as they strengthened their push for a playoff spot. He also provides some playoff experience with a 2.57 ERA in 26 appearances across four different playoff runs. His best postseason came during the Astros’ run to the 2021 World Series in which he compiled a 0.73 ERA in 12 appearances.
3. A not-so-great history with Texas
Some Rangers fans probably didn’t remember Maton’s name terribly fondly when they saw Texas had acquired him in a deal.
That’s because Maton is the pitcher who threw the sinker that fractured Josh Jung’s wrist in the early part of the 2024 season, causing Jung to miss most of that campaign. While it wasn’t intentional, Maton hasn’t exactly been popular among Rangers fans since Jung’s injury.
4. He faced his brother in the big leagues
Maton’s brother Nick was also in the major leagues, and Phil faced his younger brother in a game in 2022.
On Oct. 5, 2022, Phil, then a member of the Astros, faced Nick, then a member of the Phillies, in the eighth inning in Houston. The at-bat went six pitches, but Nick ultimately lined a 2-2 fastball into right field for a single.
“I was trying my best to not listen to the chirping going on both sides,” Phil told MLB.com after the game. “It was hard to keep it together because it was a really cool experience. He won this one.”
5. Immaculate inning
The Rangers are on the wrong side of some baseball history, thanks in part to Maton.
When he was a member of the rival Astros, Maton threw an immaculate inning against the Rangers at Globe Life Field, mowing down Nathaniel Lowe, Ezequiel Duran and Brad Miller on June 15, 2022.
If you didn’t know already, an immaculate inning is a rare feat in which a pitcher strikes out the side on the minimum nine pitches.
Maton’s immaculate inning was the ninth in Astros history, but his immaculate inning also added insult to injury. Earlier in the game, Houston pitcher Luis Garcia notched an immaculate inning of his own against Lowe, Duran and Miller. This marked the first time in MLB history that two immaculate innings were thrown on the same date by two pitchers on any team, let alone the same team and let alone against the exact same three batters.
Related:‘It sucks’: Texas Rangers on wrong side of Astros immaculate historyTexas Rangers exit trade deadline with a thud against Mariners as woes in Seattle continueWho is Danny Coulombe? 5 things to know about the Rangers’ new lefty relief pitcher
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