There’s really no other way to describe it, because as much anger as fans have felt, it does appear as though Phil Maton’s 2026 season has been a disaster thanks to a nagging knee injury. The veteran relief pitcher has been placed on the injured list for the third time this year, and this time the Chicago Cubs are talking about it potentially being a season-ending issue.
Maton signed a two-year, $14 million contract with the Cubs last offseason, which came as a surprise given the organization’s trend of avoiding multi-year deals for relievers. And well, after this experience, we might not see another one for many more years. Maton has been a dud all season long, but if you want to see the glass half full, then you can say that the struggles are directly caused by the pitcher’s knee injury.
On Sunday. Maton came into pitch out of the bullpen with the Cubs leading 10-0 in the eighth inning, and he once again looked awful. The right-hander gave up a run, surrendering two hits and a walk. It was his third straight relief appearance giving up at least one run, and in 31 games this year Maton has recorded a 6.18 ERA.
You can’t point to any positive signs, as Maton has an expected ERA of 6.79, 5.49 FIP, and 4.37 xFIP, while sporting an average strikeout rate of 22.8%, a walk rate of 11.8%, and five home runs allowed in 27.2 innings.
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The Cubs first placed Maton on the injured list in April, then again in June. Now, his third trip to the IL might just end the pitcher’s season.
The troubling aspect of the knee issue is that Maton was already dealing with the problem in the second half of the 2025 season after he was traded to the Texas Rangers. So, it isn’t really something that came out of the blue, and now the Cubs are paying the price. Maton was supposed to be their top set-up man, and if needed, he could come in to close out games. Instead, he’s been bad, injured, and hurting the bullpen all season long.
Now, Maton may be completely out of the picture with no chance to turn it around in 2026 if it’s determined that he needs knee surgery.
