The Chicago Cubs signed a starting pitcher in free agency on Monday as they came to terms with southpaw Matthew Boyd of Mercer Island, Washington. The terms of the contract are two years and $29 million according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
Fifth Major League Baseball Team
The Cubs are the fifth Major League Baseball team that Boyd has played for. He was previously with the Toronto Blue Jays for one season in 2015, the Detroit Tigers for eight seasons from 2015 to 2021, and again in 2023, the Seattle Mariners in 2022, and the Cleveland Guardians in 2024.
Boyd’s 2024 MLB Statistics
In 2024, Boyd pitched eight games, and had a record of two wins and two losses, with an earned run average of 2.72. During 39 2/3 innings, he gave up 32 hits, 12 earned runs, four home runs, and 13 walks, to go along with 46 strikeouts and a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.13.
Boyd only pitched a partial season as he recovered from Tommy John Surgery that he had while as a member of the Tigers in 2023. It seemed like the surgery worked, as Boyd had three quality starts with Cleveland last season. He only gave up one earned run in six innings in three of his eight starts. Those exceptional consecutive performances came in a 4-2 Guardians win over the Texas Rangers on August 25, in a 3-0 Guardians loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 31, and in a 3-1 Guardians win over the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers on September 6.
Struggled at Times
There have been struggles for Boyd in his career. He was not very effective at all with the Blue Jays in his rookie season of 2015. In two starts, Boyd had an earned run average of 14.85 as he gave up 11 earned runs in 6 2/3 innings. Boyd also had an earned run average of 6.57 with the Tigers in 2015, an earned run average of 5.27 with the Tigers in 2017, led the American League with 39 home runs allowed in 2019, an earned run average of 6.21 with the Tigers in 2020 (led Major League Baseball with seven losses, 45 earned runs and 15 home runs allowed), and an earned run average of 5,45 with the Tigers in 2023.
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