Our oldest was in a production of ‘Frozen’ this weekend, which means I saw it three times, and means the songs are absolutely laser-engraved on my brain right now. All night, too. It’s like when you go to an amusement park and ride the coasters all day, and then you kinda still feel it when you lay down to sleep that night. Except, for me, it’s people asking me to let it go and reminding me that love is an open door and such, loudly and on a loop. I GET IT. HE’S A BIT OF A FIXER-UPPER. NOW SHUT UP ABOUT IT.
Like I said last night, the Brandon Nimmo-Marcus Semien swap was more “big name” and “big contract” than “big importance.” These are two formerly great players, who project more as decent in 2026 and beyond, and the extent to which it will actually impact each team’s on-field play is debatable. That said, each player is pretty clearly a better fit for his new club, especially within the context of what else they hope to do this offseason. I’m guessing the Rangers aren’t going to sell off any other big names from here, as they just covered their biggest need and they were a .500 club this season. I’m guessing the Mets are now wide open for business in the outfield, and in their ability to trade away a young infielder or two. With a little more distance, I can see that most of the reaction out there (and initially my own) about the weirdness of the trade had less to do with the sensibility of the swap, and more about the fact that we so rarely see trades like this. Two former star players, signed to monster contracts, traded for each other in the middle of those contracts? That’s weird! It’s also pretty fun, and allows you to dream as a baseball fan on what other unexpected transactions could be possible. Nice to be reminded of that. Setting aside his dominant 2025 performance and attendant velocity boost, I’ve been thinking about two other things I really like about the Phil Maton signing: (1) he is a well-traveled veteran in a bullpen where the Cubs could once again have a whole lot of youth, and we know that can really be a boost in performance and player development; and (2) he’s a cerebral pitcher who started calling his own pitches via PitchCom last season (The Athletic). Turns out, that latter item was because he’d signed so late and didn’t have a chance to really develop a rapport with Cardinals catchers. So it was kind of an adjusting-on-the-fly situation, which proved to be a great development. Not only does that make me feel even better about the stickiness of the 2025 performance, but it also makes me feel good about him adjusting to his fifth team – and fifth set of catchers – in two years. They’ll have a full offseason and Spring Training to get on the same page, yes, but it’s also comforting when a guy has the confidence and knowledge necessary to take the reins on his own, if necessary, especially when he has a deep pitch mix. Also, I just kinda like the idea that Maton has now been in SO MANY bullpens the last few years. It’s not hard to imagine him having picked up a lot of tips, tricks, and wisdom that he can pass on to Cubs pitchers (especially knowing he’s going to be here for at least two years). Maton’s curveball is an extreme outlier, by the way, and we know how the Cubs feel about things like that:How unique is Phil Maton's curveball? On a 0-100 scale, he has a 97 "Uniqueness Score." Maton's curve has unique spin and horizontal movement. It's considered an outlier. pic.twitter.com/xtPb0YRnDF
Phil Maton, 3389 RPM Curveball. ?️ pic.twitter.com/GOjIqY2HE0
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 25, 2024Phil Maton, 3298 RPM Curveball. ?️ pic.twitter.com/UKQdBhD86N
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 9, 2025 Maton’s cutter, which is essentially his base fastball at 90-91 mph, also has waaaaay more rise than a typical cutter. Again, the Cubs love cut-rise fastballs anyway, so I’m sure they really liked that about him. In hindsight, it’s getting easier and easier to see why the Cubs targeted Maton so aggressively. It just looks impossibly easy for Pete Crow-Armstrong, especially when you go back and watch where he was when the ball was hit, and how little hang time it had – he didn’t even really HAVE to slide to get it:Peter Henry Crow-Armstrong (5/6/25)5% catch probability?️"You ain't gettin' it" pic.twitter.com/OAsIZqy8Bp
— The WARmonger (@TheWARmonger_) November 23, 2025 It’s very hard for me to imagine an individual baseball performance being better than this, especially in the playoffs, any time soon:2025 PitchingNinja "How is this Real?" Award. ???Winner: Shohei Ohtani's performance in NLCS Game 4.-10Ks in 6 Scoreless innings on the mound -3 Home Runs and 1 Walk at the plate pic.twitter.com/k10nw5tdeM
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— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) November 23, 2025Hence then, the article about fun baseball trade easier and easier to see maton s appeal and other cubs bullets was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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