Entering the 2022 season, I had high hopes for Phil Maton to assume a larger role in the Astros’ bullpen. While his first 25 1⁄3 innings in Houston following the Myles Straw trade with Cleveland weren’t exactly praiseworthy (4.97 ERA, 4.08 FIP), his performance that postseason (0.73 ERA, 2.68 FIP) definitely caught my attention. Insert the standard small sample caveat here, but those 12 1⁄3 innings in October provided some hope for the future.
Alas, it wasn’t meant to be, at least for last season. While Maton was generally adequate (3.