Steven Jakob Matz is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball. He has previously played in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays, St. Louis Cardinals, and Boston Red Sox. Born and raised on Long Island, Matz played baseball for Ward Melville High School in East Setauket, New York, before being drafted in the second round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft by the New York Mets. Despite early setbacks due to injuries, Matz has had a successful career, marked by strong performances in pivotal games.
The New York Mets selected Matz directly out of high school, with the 72nd overall pick, the same year he graduated from Ward Melville High School. Originally committed to Coastal Carolina University to play college baseball for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, Matz agreed to sign with the Mets for an $895,000 signing bonus, a deal finalized minutes before the August 15 signing deadline. While pitching in an instructional league in 2010, he experienced elbow discomfort, and a doctor diagnosed him with an 80 percent tear in the ulnar collateral ligament of his throwing elbow, resulting in Tommy John surgery on May 18, 2010. His recovery lasted two years, during which he rehabbed with fellow Mets organization pitcher Jacob deGrom, and the two became close friends, living in the same house in Port St. Lucie, Florida during every spring training. Matz did not make his professional debut until 2012, when he pitched for the Kingsport Mets of the Rookie-level Appalachian League, initially continuing to feel elbow pain that eventually disappeared. He compiled a 2–1 record and 1.55 earned run average in 29 innings pitched with Kingsport.
Before the 2013 season, Matz worked on developing a curveball to replace his slider, at the advice of Frank Viola and Ron Romanick. That year, he pitched for the Savannah Sand Gnats of the Single-A South Atlantic League, where he had a 5–6 record and 2.62 earned run average while recording 121 strikeouts in 106 and 1/3 innings pitched. He had 12 and 2/3 shutout innings and 17 strikeouts for Savannah during the playoffs, and pitched the team to the 2013 South Atlantic League championship, throwing 5 and 2/3 innings against the Hagerstown Suns and striking out nine batters in the 2–0 victory. The Mets added Matz to their 40-man roster on November 20, 2013, to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft, and he began the 2014 season with the St. Lucie Mets of the High-A Florida State League, where he had a 4–4 record and 2.21 earned run average, before being promoted to the Binghamton Mets of the Double-A Eastern League in June. With Binghamton, he pitched to a 6–5 record with a 2.28 earned run average and 69 strikeouts in 71 innings, and he pitched the game that clinched Binghamton the Eastern League championship in 2014. After the 2014 season, the Mets named Matz their Organizational Pitcher of the Year. Matz opened the 2015 season with the Las Vegas 51s of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, posting a 7–4 record and 2.19 earned run average in 15 games started, the best earned run average in the league, as well as 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings. Across four seasons with five teams in his minor league career, Matz posted an overall 2.28 earned run average.
Steven Matz debuted against the Cincinnati Reds at the Mets’ Citi Field on June 28, 2015, becoming the first Long Island high school pitcher to make his Major League Baseball debut with the Mets since Ray Searage in 1981. Using a bat gifted to him by Las Vegas teammate Matt Reynolds, Matz recorded three hits as a batter and drove in four runs, becoming the first pitcher in Major League Baseball history to record that many hits and runs batted in during a debut game. In his second start, Matz pitched six scoreless innings while striking out eight and allowing two hits in a win against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but was placed on the disabled list for two months shortly afterward due to a partial tear in the latissimus muscle in his left side. He returned to the pitching rotation on September 6, and following a 5–1 win against the New York Yankees on September 18, he became the first player in Mets history to allow two runs or fewer in each of his first five career starts. He finished the regular season with a 4–0 record, 2.27 earned run average, and 1.23 walks plus hits per innings pitched over six starts, with 34 strikeouts in 35 and 2/3 innings pitched. He made three postseason starts: one each in the National League Division Series, National League Championship Series, and World Series, including Game 4 of the World Series against the Kansas City Royals, who ultimately won the championship.
The Mets marketed their pitching rotation of Matz, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, and Noah Syndergaard as the Four Horsemen of Queens prior to the 2016 season. Matz opened the season with the worst start of his career to date, but rebounded and won his next seven consecutive starts, bringing his record to 7–1 and his earned run average to 2.36 by May 25. In May, he went 4–0 across five starts with a 1.83 earned run average, with 31 strikeouts and batters hitting .180 against him, and was named National League Rookie of the Month for May, becoming only the third Mets player to receive that distinction. However, a large bone spur in his throwing elbow, discovered in early May, became a persistent issue. He received a cortisone shot, but his elbow discomfort returned in June, and he threw a career-high 120 pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 9 before being added to the disabled list due to a left shoulder impingement. He was shut down for the season in September and had surgery in October to remove the bone spurs. Matz finished the 2016 season with a 9–8 record, 3.40 earned run average, and 121 strikeouts. The Mets made the 2016 playoffs but lost the National League Wild Card Game to the San Francisco Giants.
Matz struggled with injuries in 2017, missing the first two months of the season due to elbow inflammation, and in late August doctors determined he had ulnar nerve irritation in his left elbow, requiring season-ending surgery to decompress and reposition the nerve. He pitched just 66 and 2/3 innings in 13 starts, compiling a record of 2–7 with a 6.08 earned run average. He recovered in time for the start of the 2018 season and won a spot in the Mets starting rotation during spring training, ultimately pitching a career-high 30 starts, though with a 5–11 record and 3.97 earned run average. He hit his first career home run on September 13, 2018, against the Miami Marlins, becoming only the third Mets pitcher to homer in consecutive appearances. In 2019, Matz had the best earned run average of any Mets starting pitcher through June, and he threw his first career complete-game shutout on July 27, a 3–0 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He finished the 2019 season at 11–10, his first winning record since 2016, with career-highs in strikeouts and innings pitched. The pandemic-shortened 2020 season saw Matz go 0–5 with a 9.68 earned run average in nine games.
On January 27, 2021, the Mets traded Matz to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for right-handed pitchers Sean Reid-Foley, Yennsy Díaz, and Josh Winckowski. Matz posted a 14–7 record with a 3.82 earned run average and 144 strikeouts in 150 and 2/3 innings over 29 starts, with his 14 wins tying for second in the American League. On August 22, 2021, he gave up Miguel Cabrera’s 500th career home run. After becoming a much-sought-after free agent, Matz finalized a four-year, $44 million contract to pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals on November 29, 2021. Matz made 32 appearances for the Cardinals across 2024 and 2025, recording his first career save on March 30, 2025, and pitching to a 5–2 record with a 3.44 earned run average. On July 31, 2025, the Cardinals traded Matz to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Blaze Jordan, where he made 21 relief appearances, recording a 2.08 earned run average. On December 16, 2025, Matz signed a two-year, $15 million contract with the Tampa Bay Rays. On June 6, 2026, the Rays announced that Matz would move to the bullpen after recording a 5.48 earned run average across his first 10 starts of the season. Through June 23, 2026, he held a 64–66 career win–loss record, a 4.30 earned run average, and 981 strikeouts across his Major League Baseball career.
Matz has an average fastball velocity of between 92 and 94 miles per hour, with a peak velocity of 95 miles per hour. His curveball velocity averages between 76 and 78 miles per hour, while his changeup averages between 81 and 83 miles per hour. During his minor league career he made a conscious effort to develop his curveball and work it into his pitching repertoire in place of his slider. According to Baseball Prospectus, Matz has smooth mechanics with little wasted movement, with strong front side pitching, quick arm movements, and good repetition of mechanics. A 2014 scouting report described Matz as having three offerings he can throw any hitter at any time, with his fastball velocity coming with minimal effort and positioned well on the outer half of the strike zone for right-handed hitters. In 2019 he primarily relied on his sinking fastball, which averaged 94 miles per hour, and the changeup, which averaged 85 miles per hour, while also mixing in a curveball and slider.
Matz recorded his first career win on June 28, 2015, against the Cincinnati Reds in his Major League Baseball debut, becoming the first Mets pitcher to record three or more hits in a debut and the first Met in any position to have four runs batted in in his first game. He pitched in his first World Series in 2015, facing the Kansas City Royals in Game 4, and was named National League Rookie of the Month in May 2016 after winning seven consecutive starts. He threw his first career complete-game shutout on July 27, 2019, a 99-pitch Maddux against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and recorded his first career save on March 30, 2025, for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Steven Matz is married to Taylor Cain, a Christian music singer and guitar player who performs in the band Cain with her siblings Madison and Logan Cain. Matz was introduced to Cain by fellow Mets player T. J. Rivera and his wife Ashton, who attended college with Cain at Troy University in Troy, Alabama. Their first child, a daughter, was born in August 2022, and a son was born one month prematurely in October 2024. Matz was born on May 29, 1991, in Stony Brook, New York, to Ron and Lori Matz, and has an older brother named Jonathan and a younger sister named Jillian. He is a Christian and has spoken openly about his faith, growing up as a non-practicing Lutheran before joining a non-denominational church in Queens during his time in the minor leagues. Matz has been involved in various charitable efforts, including starting the charity initiative Tru 32 in April 2016, which honors first responders from the New York City Fire Department, New York City Police Department, and United States Military. Due to his charitable efforts, he was nominated for the Major League Baseball Players Association Man of the Year Award in 2017, and was the New York Mets Marvin Miller Man of the Year nominee that year.