Eliminate Steven Matz from the Blue Jays’ shopping list after a deal with the Cardinals worth up to $ 48 million

One of the Blue Jays’ free agent pitching targets reportedly went off the board overnight.

Left-hander Steven Matz, who rebuilt his shares last season with the Blue Jays, signed a four-year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals worth up to $ 48 million (US) with incentives and a signing bonus. The deal was first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

The Blue Jays were reportedly among eight teams to bid on the 30-year-old, who posted a 3.82 ERA in 29 starts with the Blue Jays in 2021.

What may have finally tipped the balance was the length of the contract. According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the Jays offered Matz a three-year commitment. Matz joins Adam Wainwright and Jack Flaherty on a solid St. Louis rotation.

Robbie Ray, who won the American League Cy Young Award after a year-long career with the Jays, is also testing the free agent market and MLB Trade Rumors projects he will make at least $ 130 million on a long-term contract. , which may put him out of the Jays’ price range.

Toronto still has a lot of cash to spend on pitching even after locking up José Berríos for $ 131 million for seven seasons, but general manager Ross Atkins will be wary of taking on too many long-term contracts this offseason to eventually facilitate deals over. young stars Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette.

In an ideal world, Atkins said last week, the club would add two starting pitchers and reportedly go after Justin Verlander (who returned to the Houston Astros) and Noah Syndergaard (who signed with the Los Angeles Angels).

Trading for help is also an option for the Blue Jays, who have shown more willingness to forego their deep depth of prospects over the past year. They acquired Matz from the New York Mets for pitchers Sean Reid-Foley, Josh Winckowski and Yennsy Diaz last January, and traded top Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson to the Minnesota Twins for Berríos midseason.

The Mets were also reportedly in a meeting with Matz, who is from New York and was selected in the second round by the Mets in 2009. He pitched six seasons in New York, posting a 4.35 ERA in 579 2/3 innings. .

Following reports of the Cardinals deal, Mets owner Steve Cohen expressed his frustration on Twitter: “I’m not happy this morning. I’ve never seen such unprofessional behavior from a player’s agent. I guess words and promises don’t matter. ”

Matz’s agent, Rob Martin, told Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal that it was unfortunate that Cohen chose to go public with his frustrations and that he would “take the right path, which is consistent with both my character and that of our client.”

“Steven Matz grew up as a Mets fan, loved his time there and continues to invest in the New York community through his efforts to support New York first responders,” Martin said in a statement. “As a result of all that, there was a strong push to come back to the Mets. But he ultimately made the decision that was best for him and his family. Steven is always and will always be grateful to the Mets and Mets fans, but now he awaits his next chapter with the tremendous franchise in St. Louis. “

With files from Gregor Chisholm