Phil Maton's latest meltdown exposed one Cubs trade need they can’t ignore

After a very shaky start to the season which included four consecutive outings in which he allowed two earned runs, Phil Maton seemingly turned a corner after returning from a knee injury in late April. Across his first five appearances in May, the 33-year-old reliever tossed 4 2/3 scoreless frames, allowing just three baserunners (one hit, one walk, one hit by pitch) while striking out six.

Unfortunately, a dance with the Atlanta Braves this week reignited some worries about his lackluster performance, as Maton was tagged for two runs on three hits in just one inning on Wednesday night, effectively costing the Chicago Cubs an important contest against the team with baseball's best record.

His overall season numbers remain weighed down by that porous start (8.44 ERA, -0.1 fWAR), but it's clear that he's probably not ready to handle the high-leverage role the front office was desperate to fill when they signed Maton to a two-year over the winter. It's a long season, and one bad outing doesn't undo all the progress he's made recently, but the Cubs should probably prepare themselves to target a late-inning option or two as the trade deadline nears.

Jed Hoyer can redeem his 2025 trade deadline failures this summer

Considering all of the turnover the relief corps has faced due to injuries this year, it's downright impressive that the Cubs' bullpen ranks 12th in ERA (3.87) following that loss to the Braves. However, a lot of that success is due to the team's superlative defense; by FIP (4.48, 24th), strikeout rate (21.0 percent, 23rd) or even fWAR (-0.1, 23rd), the unit has been one of the worst in the league.

Daniel Palencia appears to be finding his groove in the ninth inning again, but few others in the bullpen have the underlying data to back up respectable run prevention totals. Hence, it'll fall upon Jed Hoyer to once again try and augment his pitching staff in the middle of the season.

We all know how that went last year. Michael Soroka barely made it onto the mound before succumbing to injury, Taylor Rogers was a bust, and Andrew Kittredge emerged as one of few members of Craig Counsell's circle of trust before inexplicably being shipped back to the Baltimore Orioles at the start of the offseason.

A repeat of that effort will not fly in 2026. The Cubs obviously have bigger needs to address (starting pitching), but if Maton doesn't prove that this recent blow up against the Braves was a fluke, Counsell will need someone who can handle the eighth inning ahead of Palencia.

This team can cover for a lot of weaknesses with its slugging and defense, but as this series in Atlanta is proving, the best teams can exploit their lack of leverage arms. At least one proven set-up man must be high on Hoyer's wishlist as the summer approaches.

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