Kind of seems like the 2026 Chicago Cubs bullpen was doomed from the very start of free agency. Jed Hoyer and the Cubs uncharacteristically jumped the reliever market and signed Phil Maton to a two-year contract in November. Well, his first year with the Cubs has been a total disaster and it only seems fitting that while the team is struggling to close out games, news surfaced this week that Maton is officially out for the rest of the year.
The veteran reliever has been dealing with a nagging knee injury throughout the 2026 season, the same knee that was causing him discomfort in the second half of last year. Prior to Wednesday’s series finale against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Cubs announced that Maton was scheduled to have surgery on his right knee.
And that’s that for Maton in 2026. He ends the year with a 6.18 ERA in 27.2 innings. He was the big free agent acquisition to help bolster the bullpen, and it’s been a huge whiff by Hoyer.
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It’s weird to phrase it this way, but we can now really confirm that while Phil Maton was an absolute disaster of a free agent signing in 2026 by Jed Hoyer, his awful performance was because he had a busted up right knee.
The right-handed pitcher is currently on the injured list and has been since July 20. It’s Maton’s third stint on the IL, and all three have been because of what the Cubs have called right-knee tendinitis. Well, the injury is much worse, as the Chicago Tribune’s Meghan Montemurro reported earlier this week that Maton has been diagnosed with a partial tear of the patellar tendon in his knee.
It is now unclear whether Maton will be able to return in 2026.
Via the Chicago Tribune.
The Cubs, at this point, are not counting on Maton contributing down the stretch.
He had a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection on July 21, and Maton still has another week or two until he and the Cubs decide whether to push an attempt to return. He’s been able to throw on flat ground but hasn’t gotten off the mound yet. By late August, both sides must determine if his knee is at a place where they can resume the build-up process. It’s unclear at this point whether he will need an offseason procedure to address the partial patellar tendon tear.
Maton signed a two-year, $14 million deal with the Cubs in the offseason, and he was brought in to be the setup man in the bullpen. In 31 games, the right-handed pitcher has recorded a 6.18 ERA, 1.81 WHIP, and at no point looked good for the Cubs.
One detail is quite frustrating about Maton’s knee issue: he was feeling pain in his knee during his time with the Texas Rangers in 2025. He pitched through it, but then in the offseason, he never got any testing done. Obviously, that right knee has not been healthy for a while, as Maton said he felt pain again back in spring training, and the issues haven’t subsided since.
As for the timing around the signing, the Cubs did not notice anything wrong when finalizing his deal early in free agency.
Maton didn’t experience problems during his offseason throwing program, and nothing caused a red flag during the medical progress before he signed a two-year deal with the Cubs in late November.
So, now all the Cubs can do is wait it out. Maton will most likely not pitch again in 2026, and all they can do is hope that Maton gets healthy for the 2027 season and can contribute then.
