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JUPITER, Fla. — While the Cardinals measured the depth, considered the future and determined the vacancy in their bullpen, veteran Phil Maton readied himself out there in Arizona for the offer that seems years in the making — and not just because he grew up a Cardinals fan.

Maton, a native of Chatham, Illinois, and firmly on the redbird faithful side of the unofficial dividing line with Cubsdom, finalized a one-year, $2 million contract with the Cardinals, and he was in the clubhouse Thursday morning before the official announcement had been printed. The right-handed reliever had waited months for spring to thaw his market.

So why wait a moment to get started for the summer?

“I guess there’s less value in durability and being available every day than we thought there was going to be,� Maton said. “I’ll be ready to go this year to prove to all the other teams that they should have made me an offer.�

Maton split this past season between Tampa Bay and a playoff push with the Mets. He appeared in 71 games and had a 3.66 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 64 innings. As the Mets pushed into the National League Championship Series, Maton made 31 regular-season season appearances and six in the postseason. He did not allow a run in 27 of his final 37 outings, October included. The right-hander from Glenwood High in Chatham also has one of the league’s top-spinning curveballs.

He struck out opponents with it 33.5% of the time this past season, and batters have hit about .165 against the past 803 curveballs he’s thrown.

“He can spin it,� manager Marmol said. “He can really spin it.�

For a team undergoing a self-imposed “reset,� the in-progress signing of a veteran reliever for late-inning duty appears a little retro. Maton, who turns 32 later this month, crystallizes the Cardinals bullpen by juxtaposing JoJo Romero and him as the left-right setup combo ahead of All-Star closer Ryan Helsley. While Maton’s addition seems incongruous for a team that pledged to open up opportunity for young players — not add a seasoned pro in mid-March to take a role away — the Cardinals feel he brings clarity their youth movement.

Emphasis on movement.

Maton gives the Cardinals a middle relief anchor around which to churn.

“The way we’re looking at it and the way I’m looking at it is: You think about how many pitchers are used throughout the course of a year, right?� Marmol said. “In 2024, you have 855 pitchers in the league. You divide that by 30 (clubs) and that’s 28.5. So you have the need for depth. Yes, you want to give opportunity to young guys. That’s a big part of what we’re doing. But what you also don’t want to do is have someone at the big league level that is not ready for it. That could actually hinder development.

“(Maton) gives you that extra layer of depth,� Marmol continued. “This depth piece allows you to not tap into guys you don’t want to (early). We do have flexibility in that bullpen.�

The Cardinals added further definition to their bullpen by stating Thursday morning that lefty Matthew Liberatore will go north with them in some role, and they optioned right-handed prospect Gordon Graceffo to Class AAA Memphis. Graceffo is set to start in Triple-A, but the Cardinals still see a route to majors as a power reliever.

Liberatore remains in the conversation for a starting role, though John Mozeliak, president of baseball operations, said the lefty’s “great� spring is likely to lead to a relief spot.

Nick Anderson, a standout reliever for Tampa Bay during its 2020 run for the American League pennant, is in camp on a minor league deal. Within a week of opening day, the Cardinals either need to put him on their active 26-man roster or offer him to the other 29 teams to do so. If no team does, Anderson can be assigned to Memphis.

Anderson is the seasoned vet in a mix of relievers like Chris Roycroft, Roddery Munoz, Kyle Leahy and a few others vying to join Ryan Fernandez on the left side. John King has earned the third lefty spot in the bullpen.

Other than Anderson, all of the challengers have minor league options and can move freely from level to level, as needed or as performance dictates.

“I think the tradeoff is having someone who can help the younger guys grow,� Mozeliak said. “Sometimes in the bullpen if you don’t have that presence it can feel a bit rudderless. Always trying to find someone who understands what it’s like to have to do it every day, and the having that person explain it to the younger guys is very helpful.�

Maton slides into Andrew Kittredge’s spot, the one that not only produced a club record for holds in 2024 but also left lessons relievers are still quoting this spring.

The Cardinals considered pursuing Maton to put beside Kittredge in ’24.

A Cardinals fan because his parents were and that left him with “no choice,� Maton had been a trade target at least once previously by the Cardinals as they fortified the bullpen for a playoff push. A year ago they had conversations with his agent before Maton jumped at the tangible offer from Tampa Bay. (The Cardinals signed Keynan Middleton.) The Cardinals had maintained ongoing dialogue with Maton’s representative over the past month, though it appeared that the Cardinals had a preferred price point or even a budgeted number that wouldn’t budge. The signing move swiftly in recent days.

The Cardinals were the lone team yet to make a major league addition this offseason.

Mozeliak acknowledged finally signing Maton could be his last free-agent signing before he leaves his current role at the end of this season.

He called the long way for the first signing of a new season “kind of funny, right?�

Maton was less wry about his frozen winter in the desert.

“The waiting game kind of sucked,� said Maton, who is entering his 10th season in the majors. “Just one of those things where camp was getting really close and just finally had to do something. Honestly, I didn’t really have a lot of offers. This was our best opportunity to come and throw from a guaranteed standpoint. It was a very quiet offseason.�

Yet, with a baseball in his hand he said it was rewarding.

“Probably my favorite offseason,� he said.

He spent it at his Arizona home within 15 minutes of his workout facility. He threw twice a week at the Driveline complex in Arizona, and he developed his arm strength and pitch feel like he would in spring training.

He’s yet to face hitters, and the Cardinals have him scheduled to do that Sunday. Maton will throw a bullpen session Friday to get ready and to get evaluated, and if an outing against hitters goes well, he could pitch in a sim game early in the week. The Cardinals plan to get him in a Grapefruit League game.

“I’m completely built up,� he said. “I just need to see some hitters in the box so I can get sight lines dialed in. At this point of spring, I’m ahead of where I was last year. I just need to see some guys so I’m not hitting them left and right when I get into games.�

And getting into games is the goal.

Getting into a lot of games.

Getting into a lot of games is what he brings to a bullpen, and with the plan to populate relief with youth, the Cardinals are counting on Maton as ballast against any turbulence.

“You just go through so much pitching over the 162-game season that being able to add someone who wasn’t going to change the dynamic that much,� Mozeliak said, “and getting those qualities in there.�

Maton knew them by heart: “I just to bring stability, durability to the bullpen.�