Atlanta Braves Sign Tyler Matzek to Two-Year Deal

The Atlanta Braves extended Tyler Matzek on Friday afternoon, signing him a two-year, $3.1 million extension with a $5.5 million club option for 2025, the team announced on Twitter.

Prior to this announcement, Tyler Matzek was one of the Braves’ top non-tender candidates coming into Today’s non-tender deadline. Matzek will miss all of 2023 due to Tommy John. As for how much Matzek will be making in each season, well Justin Toscano from the AJC has us covered.

What this extension means for Tyler Matzek

Matzek has represented a feel-good story in baseball for a few years now. Prior to breaking camp with the Braves in the shortened 2020, the former first-rounder hadn’t appeared in the major leagues since 2015 due to his battle with the yips.

The lefty quickly became a staple of the Braves bullpen and was one of the four members of the night shift who led the Braves to their first World Series championship in 27 years. Matzek’s most memorable moment during that postseason run came in game 6 of the NLCS, when he struck out the side, ending the Dodgers’ 2nd and 3rd, no-out threat.

This season was a disappointing season for Matzek, who missed time with a shoulder injury and finished the season with a 3.50 ERA and a 4.49 FIP. The lefty also saw a significant drop in strikeouts from the previous season, as his K% fell from 29.2% in 2021 to 19.6% in 2022.

The most disappointing part of the season came at the very end of the season, however. Matzek was left off the NLDS roster, and Snitker informed the media that the reason why was because the 2021 hero had a torn UCL and needed Tommy John Surgery.

Because of the injury, Matzek, who is eligible for arbitration for the first time this off-season, was seen as a non-tender candidate due the year-long recovery process.

Instead, the Braves opted to retain him for at least the next two seasons, giving the reliever support as he rehabilitates from his injury in 2023 and security for 2024.