Cardinals agree to four-year, $44M deal with LHP Steven Matz

Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Free agent pitcher Steven Matz and the St. Louis Cardinals are in agreement on a four-year, $44 million contract.

Sources informed The Athletic, ESPN and MLB.com of the agreement late Tuesday. The Cardinals did not immediately confirm the news.

The contract can increase to $48 million in value through incentives.

Matz, 30, went 14-7 with a 3.82 ERA in 29 starts last season for the Toronto Blue Jays. The left-handed starter joined the Blue Jays in an off-season trade from the New York Mets.

Matz joined the Mets as a second-round pick in the 2009 MLB Draft. He made his MLB debut in 2015. He owns a 45-48 record with a 4.24 ERA in 141 career appearances.

He is set to join a Cardinals rotation that also features Adam Wainwright, Jack Flaherty, Dakota Hudson and Miles Mikolas.

Cardinals starting pitchers posted a 4.01 ERA last season, the 11th-best in baseball and sixth-best in the National League. They also tied for allowing the third-fewest home runs in MLB.