ST. LOUIS, MO., November 29, 2021 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have agreed to terms with free-agent left-handed pitcher Steven Matz on a four-year (2022-25) contract.  Financial terms were not disclosed.

“We’re excited to have Steven join our rotation and bring his experience and talents to our team,” stated Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak.  “Steven has proven himself to be a consistent contributor, and we think that his game will continue to excel here in St. Louis with the backing of our exceptional defense.”

Matz, 30, finished 2nd among American League pitchers in wins (14) last season, his first as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays.  The 6-0, 200-pound southpaw made 29 starts in 2021, totaling 150.2 innings pitched while going 14-7 with a 3.82 ERA.

Drafted by the New York Mets in 2009 (2nd round, 72nd overall) out of Ward Melville High School in East Setauket, NY, Matz has compiled a career mark of 45-48 with a 4.24 ERA in 141 games (136 starts) while pitching for the Mets (2015-20) and Toronto (2021).

Matz finished 6th in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2016 after debuting with the Mets in 2015 during their run to the World Series when he went 4-0 in six starts while also drawing the start in Game 4 of the 2015 Fall Classic.

Since 2018, Matz has compiled 150 or more innings pitched in each of baseball’s three full seasons played in that span, and he is among just 16 lefties to have compiled 30 or more wins since 2018 and ranks 7th in games started (95).

Last season, Matz had the lowest hard-hit ball percentage (37.9) of any full season during his career and he finished the year with five consecutive winning decisions.  His post All-Star break totals included a 7-3 mark with a 2.91 ERA and .670 opponent OPS in 14 starts.

The ground ball inducing Matz finished 10th among American League starters in ground ball pct. (46.3) last season and tied for 11th with his 15 grounded into double plays.

The Atlantic girls basketball team will try to bounce back from a season opening loss to Denison tonight with a home meeting with Creston (1-1). The Trojans dropped that season opener a week ago 44-31. Atlantic struggled find consistent offense and returning leading scorer Jada Jensen finished with 4 points. Atlantic head coach Dan Vargason said they have to find a way to get her into the flow of the game.

Atlantic freshman Paytn Harter had a nice opening game with 12 points on 5-8 shooting. Coach Vargason hopes they can build on that solid start.

Creston comes in with a win over Des Moines Christian and a loss to Winterset. Doryn Paup will be a player to watch for the Panthers. She went 11-14 in the opener against Des Moines Christian and is averaging 22 points.

We’ll have the game on KJAN tonight with pregame at 7:15 p.m. and tip-off at 7:30 p.m. Chris Parks will have the call on AM 1220, FM 101.1, and online at KJAN.com

Girls Basketball
Clarinda 57, Essex 39
East Mills 51, Diagonal 23
Fremont-Mills 78, Heartland Christian 12
Harlan 48, Treynor 43
MVAOCOU 72, Missouri Valley 17
Mount Ayr 52, Clarke 47
Shenandoah 45, Underwood 44
Southeast Warren 43, West Central Valley 38
Southwest Valley 52, Griswold 22
Winterset 55, Creston 39

Boys Basketball
Clarinda 46, Nodaway Valley 28
Clarke 79, Mount Ayr 43
Des Moines Christian 56, Carlisle 37
East Mills 60, Diagonal 33
Fremont-Mills 56, Heartland Christian 27
Missouri Valley 48, MVAOCOU 24
Southwest Valley 58, Griswold 38
Underwood 66, Shenandoah 25
Urbandale 48, Lewis Central 42
Winterset 69, Creston 51