About a year ago, Matthew Boyd was recovering from a left elbow injury and throwing for teams, hoping to get signed. He landed with the Cleveland Guardians, where he made 8 starts and posted a 2.72 ERA during the 2024 regular season and then added three postseason starts with a 0.75 ERA.
That was enough to catch the Cubs‘ attention; Boyd signed a two-year, $29 million deal in December to play in Chicago. At the time, the expectation was that Boyd would provide rotation depth and a veteran presence in the clubhouse. He has done both of those things, but at a level beyond what the Cubs expected.
Boyd has proven to be a steadying force in a rotation that has lost Justin Steele for the season to Tommy John surgery and Shota Imanaga for at least a month with a left hamstring strain. Saturday’s start against the White Sox was Boyd’s ninth of the season and his third quality start in a row. In the 7-3 win, Boyd struck out eight Sox batters without granting a walk. In fact, Boyd has not walked a batter since his April 30 start against the Pirates. His 23 strikeouts since May 5 is tied for third-most in the majors, and Boyd has pitched 18 1/3 innings without giving a free pass.
That control of the strike zone is in part a product of an organizational philosophy; manager Craig Counsell said that in team meetings with pitching coach Tommy Hottovy, there is considerable emphasis placed on being aggressive with strike-throwing.
“You want to put pressure on the hitters, and you always want to try to counter what they’re going to bring to the table,” Boyd said. “I think strike one is always important. If you can get strike one and be in charge, be in command of the at-bat, it’s a place that Tommy and the pitching department always preaches, [and] it’s always a good spot to be.”
Against the White Sox, Boyd threw 92 pitches and 59 of those were for strikes. He had ten swings and misses, and although Chase Meidroth and Tim Elko were both able to homer off of him, Boyd otherwise limited the Sox to two hits, both singles.
A part of Boyd’s — and the rest of the pitching staff’s — confidence in living in the strike zone so much comes from the defense they have behind them. The Cubs ranked seventh in the league with 20 defensive runs saved coming into Saturday’s game, and on at least one occasion they demonstrated why a guy like Boyd can pepper the strike zone without worrying too much about the opposing offense doing a lot of damage.
Case in point, this third-inning catch by Pete Crow-Armstrong:
That fly ball by Joshua Palacios had a .650 expected batting average and came off of his bat at just under 102 miles per hour. More often than not, that is an extra-base hit. It ended up being an especially crucial out because the White Sox hit back-to-back singles afterward, so the catch helped stifle what could have been a troublesome inning for Boyd.
“Didn’t think there was any shot that ball was going to be caught, and he pulled that thing out,” Boyd said. “He continues to do that night in, night out, and when you have the defense behind us that we do, it gives you all the confidence to go out there and just fill up the zone because guys can make some amazing plays.”
Boyd’s impact on the Cubs thus far can be captured in the number’s he’s putting up — a 2.98 ERA in nine starts and 53 strikeouts to just 13 walks — but it goes a bit beyond that, too. The Cubs have been able to weather not having Steele and Imanaga in the rotation because guys like Boyd are stepping up and throwing strikes, but Boyd is also providing value to the clubhouse because of his experiences in baseball.
Not only is Boyd a veteran who has been in the big leagues since 2015, but he has also been through a lot of adversity. The elbow issues that forced him to audition for teams last spring nearly pushed Boyd out of baseball altogether. He had struggled through parts of seasons from 2021-2023, and going through that has left Boyd with a sense of gratitude for being where he is now.
Having seen how an injury can come very close to bringing a halt to his career, Boyd’s attitude about his current circumstances is infectious.
“It’s such a positive vibe,” Dansby Swanson said. “Someone that has that perspective on life is awesome to be around. Just not taking anything for granted, just really enjoying showing up every day, just enjoying the ins and outs of the game, the grind of the game.
“He’s somebody that we’ve definitely enjoyed having here, and we’re going to continue to. I’m just happy that he’s on our team and that he’s healthy.”
Boyd is also taking on the role of veteran leader in the rotation. He has taken the time to sit with Ben Brown and track pitches with him between starts — a practice common among minor league pitchers but much less so at the major league level — and that was something Brown credited for his successful outing against the Marlins on Tuesday night.
In all, Boyd is checking each of the boxes the Cubs wanted from him when they signed him, and then some. They weren’t necessarily banking on a sub-3.00 ERA and a succession of quality starts coming at the same time when Imanaga has been on the injured list, even if the front office knew Boyd would likely give them the kind of mentorship of pitchers like Brown that he’s demonstrated already.
But Boyd has done all of that, and each of these things are buttressed by that grateful attitude that he brings to the Cubs clubhouse every day.
“I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I just know what I’m going to do when the ball is in my hand,” Boyd said. “When the ball is in my hand, I know what I’m going to do. And I know what I’m commanded to do, and I’ll do that. Day after day, whenever. Whatever comes tomorrow, we’ll deal with it.”
