DECEMBER 9: The Cubs made Boyd’s signing official on Saturday and Robert Murray of FanSided (X link) has the full contract details today. Boyd gets a $5MM signing bonus and a salary of $7.5MM in 2025, followed by a $14.5MM salary in 2026. There is a $2MM buyout on a $15MM mutual option for 2027. As for the bonuses, Boyd gets $100K for getting to 80, 90, 100, 110 and 120 innings pitched in each season.
DECEMBER 2: The Cubs have agreed with left-hander Matthew Boyd on a two-year deal that will guarantee him $29MM, per a report from Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The deal includes $1MM in performance bonuses, $500K each year, that could take the total guarantee to $30MM over two years. Boyd is represented by the Boras Corporation.
Boyd, 34 in February, made his big league debut with the Blue Jays back in 2018 but established himself in the majors as a member of the Tigers the following year. From 2016 to 2020, Boyd served as a slightly below league average starter for Detroit with a 4.75 ERA (95 ERA+) and 4.54 FIP in 727 innings of work. The southpaw at times flashed exciting peripherals, such as the 2019 season when he punched out 30.2% of opponents in 185 1/3 frames while walking just 6.3%, but his overall body of work cast him as more of a solid back-of-the-rotation arm than anything else.
Boyd’s time with the Tigers came to a close when he required surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon late in the 2021 campaign, which left him limited to just ten relief appearances as a member of the Mariners. He returned to the Tigers in 2023 but made just 15 starts to lackluster results before going under the knife a second time, this time due to Tommy John surgery.
Once again a free agent coming off major surgery, Boyd remained unsigned headed into the 2024 season before eventually landing a big league deal with the Guardians back in June. The lefty didn’t make his season debut until mid-August after building up to game readiness in the minor leagues, but once he suited up for Cleveland he looked quite good with a 2.72 ERA and 3.29 FIP in 39 2/3 innings of work across eight starts down the stretch. He struck out 27.7% of his opponents while walking just 7.3%, which would have given Boyd one of the better K-BB% figures for a starter in the sport this year if he had pitched enough innings to qualify. He built on that solid regular season performance with a strong showing during the Guardians’ run to the ALCS. He pitched 12 innings for the club across four appearances (three starts), and struck out 28% of opponents while posting a dazzling 0.75 ERA.
That strong finish to Boyd’s season left the southpaw poised to garner plenty of interest in free agency this winter, even in spite of his checkered injury history. MLBTR ranked Boyd as the #23 free agent in this winter’s class on our annual Top 50 MLB free agents list, and predicted a two-year, $25MM guarantee that comes in just below the pact he ultimately landed with the Cubs. Boyd becomes the fifth starting pitcher to sign a multi-year deal this winter, joining Michael Wacha’s three-year deal with the Royals, Yusei Kikuchi’s three-year pact with the Angels, Blake Snell’s five-year contract with the Dodgers, and the two-year agreement between Frankie Montas and the Mets that was reported earlier this evening.
Notably, four of the five were unencumbered by draft pick compensation in a pitching market where plenty of borderline candidates such as Nick Pivetta and Luis Severino were extended the qualifying offer by their clubs. (Wacha re-signed in Kansas City the day before QOs were tendered but would very likely have received one.) Each pitcher has landed a deal that come in at or above expectations.
Even so, that seems to have pushed clubs that aren’t interested in signing a qualified free agent to act quickly. The calendar has only just flipped to December the market is already beginning to thin in terms of starters who aren’t attached to a qualifying offer. MLBTR predicted multi-year deals for just four more free agent starters who aren’t attached to draft pick compensation this winter: Jack Flaherty, Nathan Eovaldi, Andrew Heaney, and Jose Quintana.
Turning back to the Cubs, the addition of Boyd adds another capable veteran arm to a rotation that already features lefties Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga as well as right-hander Jameson Taillon. Adding to the rotation has been a well-established priority for the club this winter, though early reports of plans to shop for a top-of-the-rotation arm eventually gave way to the suggestion Chicago could instead look for arms a tier or two below that pedigree. Boyd fits the latter description, given his roughly league-average work throughout his career and his recent struggles with injuries. The lefty has been limited to just 202 2/3 innings of work since the start of the 2021 season, and in that time he’s posted a 4.04 ERA (105 ERA+) with a 3.97 FIP and a 23.2% strikeout rate against an 8% walk rate.
While Boyd may not necessarily profile as a front-end starter, it’s still not hard to imagine him providing an upgrade to the Cubs’ rotation when healthy. After all, the lefty was legitimately impactful for the Guardians this year in both the regular season and the playoffs, and that success being a late-career step forward rather than a simple hot streak can’t be ruled out for a pitcher who has long shown flashes of dominance throughout his time in the majors. What’s more, Chicago is perhaps uniquely well-equipped to handle any absences caused by future injuries thanks to a deep group of optionable arms that includes Ben Brown, Javier Assad, Jordan Wicks, and Hayden Wesneski who can step into the rotation fairly seamlessly if needed.
For the time being, that quartet appears likely to vie for the fifth spot in the club’s rotation this spring, with Assad as the early front-runner after a generally successful (3.73 ERA, 4.64 FIP) season as a starter in 2024. RosterResource currently projects the Cubs for a $176MM payroll in 2025, and the Boyd deal should move that up to the $191MM range. That still leaves a bit more than $20MM of breathing room relative to the club’s 2024 Opening Day payroll, which Cot’s Baseball Contracts notes sat just over $214MM. It’s not impossible to imagine the club pursuing another starter to strengthen their rotation through either free agency or trade this winter with the financial flexibility the club has remaining, but given the club’s needs at catcher and in the bullpen it seems those funds will likely be used elsewhere—at least unless a trade of Cody Bellinger clears some additional money off the club’s books.
The Hot Stove is On Fire! (Odd timing late Sunday/Early Monday)
Feel bad for Cubs fans. One of the richest franchises in baseball acting like they don’t have money to spend. Hope he works out for them.
Wanted snell ohtani freeman but Dodgers got them so why try?
feel bad for Guardians. the name stinks plus Boyd costs too much for them to afford. inside tip: keep eye on Rich Hill
Don’t let last year get to your head.
Cant be too harsh on family Ricketts tho. Strapped for cash amidst biblical losses. And there’s a few things on his gift list: a bowling alley, umbrella drink bar, yum yum donut to snatch up. They’re doing all they can to field a championship ball team
Questionable announcements, in sports and outside of sports, seem to happen on Sunday nights.
Congrats to Boyd. I didn’t want him back as he earned a contract out of what we should pay him. Hope Bieber is gone next. Good luck to Boyd in Chicago. It’s a good story.
Seems like a gross overpay based on a limited return from injury where he pitched his best ever. Hopefully, I’m wrong.
Seems insane to me. If you want a #4 that you expect to actually put up 180 innings around 4.ERA then sign Kyle Gipson for about the same money. Good clubhouse guy and from the Midwest.
Gibson gives you virtually no upside, which is what they are looking for. And who cares if someone is from the Midwest? lol
Gipson. He loved St Louis and was hoping his option would be picked up. I know it is hard to fathom but some people prefer to live away from the conglomeration on each coast
Cardinal fans always get fooled by players saying they “love St Louis.” It’s kind of cute. Unfortunately, every player ever says they love the city they’re playing in, for obvious reasons.
Mrperkins- it’s not Gipson…maybe try googling before you double down on your mistake next time
Gibson might care but the Cubs obviously don’t.
What upside has Boyd down other than what could easily be a flukish 39 IP last year? z He’s not even a “has- been” because he’s been an anything.
Boyd has as much upside as an Olympic Slalom.
Fred, maybe Gibson provides the clubhouse with not only fresh, sweet corn but also a carload of homespun tales about growing up in Indiana.
Weird arm slot, but he locates his fastball well, and changes speeds well with his off speed stuff. Sits 92 to 94 with the fastball but I think it’s his best pitch. He moves it all around the zone and it’s hard to pickup with that sidearm delivery. Three lefties in the rotation for the Cubs.
Gibson went to college at Mizzou. He wanted to play in St Louis. And he was a free agent who CHOSE to play there.
While i do think he wouldn’t mind staying in the area to play I agree Gibson has no upside and Boyd does.
I don’t think ur wrong
Glass
39 innings pitched last year, 71 innings pitched in 2023..and 13 in 2022. Was he turned into a reliever at one point? Cause I swear I thought he was a starter? With the contract given to Montas by the Mets, and this one given to Boyd by the Cubs, pitching will be very expensive this offseason to say the least. Wow..
Just because teams are paying a lot for players now doesn’t mean it’s going to continue. I have a feeling the patient mid market teams are the ones who are going to clean up after the big market teams have their fun. And that’s good because that will help with some of the competitive imbalance that is MLB in this day and age.
I’ve thought the same thing, that the price of starting pitching has become too high, even for mid and lower tier starters.
Not really, the market (MLB salaries, pitching in particular) has risen pretty in-line with inflation and the rise of other position salaries. It’s just a bit shocking to see a #4/5 starter get $15-$17M/yr for multiple years. Montas similar deal, but with an opt-out.
Inflation and baseball salaries really dont go hand in hand. Baseballs popularity has been in decline for years. It’s barely December most free agents haven’t signed yet. Wait until April and we can talk about if players are getting more money. I bet they aren’t. I bet these deals made now will look like overpays.
MLB revenue and attendance are trending up.
Those numbers can be falsified.
As a Cardinals fan I can tell you the ticket sales numbers are fake. They say 30k tickets sold and it’s less than half of that.
Also, the market price is about $7 mill per WAR – is it that crazy to think that Boyd could get 2.5 WAR in 2024?
No it’s not crazy. It’s also not crazy that he will get less than that.
I dont hate the deal but he’s risky and the Cubs really didn’t need a lefty starter.
No, baseball’s popularity is not in decline. If it were they wouldn’t be handing out this kind of money for an injury-prone 34 year-old starter who had a few good starts in the second half and the playoffs. Baseball is doing just fine, even though the Stephen A Smith crowd doesn’t like it.
@bronyaur
$/WAR isn’t linear. For a team like the Padres, Braves, or Mets, they may pay more per WAR. For division bottom-dwellers, it wouldn’t make sense because those wins are marginal and inconsequential.
southi
This is why MLB is turning into a bullpen game.
Good deal tho. Million dollar per inning. Those innings don’t grow on trees.
Well it’s not Tanner Scott but it is a reasonable facsimile. It’s decent Closer or late inning money or if Hodge and Little prove they can get the job done then he be a long man or turn into a starter. makes the Pitching Staff more versatile. Not the guy I wanted but I’m all for it. Nice job Jed. Keep up the good work.
There is some upside here but gosh that’s a lot of money. I gotta believe he’s headed to the rotation not the pen.
One thing we know is if you give Counsell quality arms he knows what to do with them. nice to know Jed has figured out his mistake the last 2 years and is building a deep pitching staff in case of injuries. They’ve started out slow the last 2 years and it’s cost them. 1 more quality Bullpen arm, A decent C, And figure out if they have the reserves they want , Chase Sasaki, Not much left to do really.The rest is gravy, Building a deeper team. You can never have enough.
I think the Cubs need more than 1 more quality bullpen arm. That and catcher are really their only weaknesses at this point. And while I think some of the predictions for how much the Cubs have to spend this offseason made by this site were incredibly aggressive, as usual, they still have money to spend and a good amount. Not to mention they have prospects to trade if needed.
I would be asleep if not for some stomach problems. Talk to you tomorrow.
Time will tell if Boyd is a starter or in the pen, and absolutely agree with your sentiment of their deepening out the overall pitching staff – then see who fits where down the road. Ton a flexibility between pen/starter with Brown, Wicks, Assad, Boyd.
Well they have added Morgan and Boyd off Cleveland’s staff. I’m betting they can get Lopez to come back. Anyway Hoyer is throwing a lot into LH pitching. I see it as Little and Boyd in the Majors. Bickford and Zastryzny in Iowa as depth. Amaya as a C1A, Thaiss as a 3. Still need a C1 or at least a 1B. I don’t remember Morgan enough to say he is a quality guy or not. The price says he is. Cleveland did have the best pen in the league last year. We’ll see how CC uses them all. Depth is always good and so far the additions have been good and inexpensive except for Boyd and he’s not outlandish for what he brings. The Cubs pitching wasn’t very versatile and I’m not positive Wesneski is a starter or reliever. But so far Hoyer has added inexpensive versatility. I’m the first one to bash him so I’ll praise him when he deserves it and he’s not shooting his wad at every turn which is good.
This ain’t that guy. He’s the last guy you want to tie up $25 mil to build depth in case of injuries. He’s the poster-child for chronically injured pitchers. I just don’t get it.
Uncle—-unless I am totally misreading your line of Jed putting a lot into LH pitching. Please note that Bickford is right handed.
You lumped him with Little, Boyd and Zystryzny.
Cubby- Yeah just meant he would be Iowa depth in case of a tragic run of injuries to see Wrigley. Guess I did lump him in the wrong pile. My bad.
Little and Boy seems appropriate in the context
Starter
I am quite sure he signed as a starter.
263 IP going back to 2020 gets you almost 15 million a year as a starter, I just don’t get it anymore!
If the plan is to use him in the bullpen it does. It’s enough money that he can’t complain about being a late inning guy and also can get him some starts if needed. The key is his versatility. That’s worth the money.. Innings? Who cares?
@uncle
No it doesn’t. In fact it makes it even worse. In the last 7 seasons he’s pitched out the pen for 13 innings, and that was in 2022. If he’s going to be a swing man or just an arm in the own them $25 mil is a gross overpay. $25 mil is closer or high leverage proven commodity money. They absolutely could’ve waited and found those kind of guys that are better in February. Even guys that get cut or sent for assignment can be found for a 1/4 the price. He simply doesn’t have a track record that justifies that kind of salary.
For the millionth time they signed him as a SP!
That’s not a fact yet. Guy is just off TJ surgery. Cubs need another LH starter like I need the gout. But they do need LH Major league bullpen arms for a couple of years. Your assumption might be flawed. We’ll see what CC uses him for.
They obviously didn’t sign him for the bullpen.
Or $315,271.39 per major league win for his career. My dad was right. I shouldn’t have given up Little League.
FWIW MLBTR had him 4 spots ahead of Montas who earned $5M more than Boyd.
Good gosh he turned 8 good starts into 29 million dollars good for him. Look at those career numbers it’s not impressive.
Every Pitcher wants to start. If you want a guy to relieve you have to make it worth his while and overpay him. It’s not a contract you’re going to regret a whole lot, And will keep him happy being in the pen. What’s not to like? Tanner Scott would have wanted more and for 3 years probably and they’re pretty similar.
The Cubs were looking for rotation help last time I checked. He was a starter last year. Why are you so sure he’s headed to the pen?
If they wanted a reliever they could have signed someone like Scott like you mentioned. He probably would cost a similar amount and has a better track record of performance. The difference with Boyd is he’s a starter he can pitch more innings.
The Cubs were looking for rotation DEPTH not a front line starter. Cubs have 4 good starters, Steele, Tallion, Imanaga and Assad. Then you have Brown, Horton, Wicks, Killian, Birdsell and Noland at AAA to fight it out between them this spring. If they can get a guy like Buehler, or trade for Crochet or even get Sasaki all the better. Can’t wait for the Winter Meetings this week to see what’s next. If they can move Belli’s 27 million opens up even more possibilities. I like the move.
I don’t hate the move but I don’t like it either. I think the Cubs need pen help more than anything. I also don’t think they needed another lefty starter. Having 1 or 2 is good having 3 or 4 is not imo. He’s very risky yes there is upside and yes the Cubs have depth if he doesn’t pan out but it’s a lot of money.
We were talking earlier about a Bellinger for Castillo trade. That’s a move I think makes a lot of sense even if the Cubs included Wicks or something like that to get it done.
Steele
Castillo
Imanaga
Taillon
Boyd
That’s a scary rotation
Yeah, that sounds pretty good. The thing with Dipoto is that the Mariners probably don’t want to do a 1-for-1 Bellinger-Castillo trade. Undeniably though, Castillo would be a terrific fit for the Cubs.
Winter Meetings next week.
This is classic Hoyer, overpay for mediocre. He refuses to shop in the difference maker section. Hoyer has got to go.
“probably” is probably a guaranteed probability
You cannot shop for a difference maker when you’re spending 33 million dollars in two back of the rotation starters.
As I said if the Cubs had to include Wicks that would make sense. The Mariners could use a lefty starter and might not want to rely on Hancock.
Castillo is overpaid I think the Mariners would like to get away from that contract. I like his upside but he’s overpaid.
DC, on the surface it may make sense but if you knew/looked deeper at Bellinger and Castillo, it wouldn’t make sense at all.
Bellinger would be a monster in some cities, Seattle is not one of those cities. He’d be a rather large bust. Castillo is a good pitcher that benefits greatly in Seattle now and he is mediocre on the road. Cubs don’t need/want Castillo and Seattle doesn’t want Bellinger because neither are fits for either team.
All hitters are going to hit less in Seattle Bellinger isn’t unique in that way.
Castillo had a lot of success pitching in the NL central for the Reds so he could bounce back.
Neither team really needs their guy. Seattle would barely miss Csstillo they have enough pitching. The Cubs have Armstrong to step in and Cassie and Alcantara coming later in the year.
Exactly, Hoyers an idiot. He Waste so much money on positions that should be filled by the farm for a fraction of the cost. Their payroll is so bloated with blah.
What a guy did at age 28 has little relevance for what he will do at age 32.
And yes, Seattle effects every players offense but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t effect some players more than others and given that Bellinger focuses more on contact than exit velocity, it would have an even greater effect. Bellinger wouldn’t hit 5 home runs playing at Seattle.
Drascoo366,
So maybe the Cubs deal from a position of depth to get Castillo from Seattle, and then Bellinger goes to a team other than Seattle, which might be a better fit for him?
Bellinger wouldn’t hit 5 home runs playing at Seattle.
=======================
Well, he already has 3 in only 32 ABs, so there’s that.
I personally wouldn’t trade for Castillo but that is just me.
Castillo is a “win now” move that is going to tie up quite a bit of money and the Cubs would be paying for “declining” years. Doesn’t make a lot of sense for the Cubs. Of course nothing Hoyer does ever really makes sense for the Cubs.
Castillo, to me, is a middle of the rotation starter and the Cubs have plenty. Of course, Hoyer loves slightly better than average players.
Fun fact, Joe, Bellinger changed his approach in 2023 and that is important because the last time Bellinger hit a home run in Seattle was 2020, so there is that.
How many games has Bellinger played in Seattle in that period of time?
Good gosh dude…..
What’s more relevant black, the handful of games he’s played since changing his approach or the handful of games he played a half decade ago where he was swinging from his heels every pitch?
Good gosh dude…
Both are just a handful of games. I would look at his career numbers with an extra emphasis on recent performance and then adjust for Seattle’s park being a tough place to hit. That’s what I did before commenting.
Castillo has similar issues he’s pitching in a park where his numbers should look great but he’s taken a step back.
Both players are imperfect and risky. I am sure if the trade was made one team would get the better end of the deal a few years from now. But I like the risk reward for both teams and I think it helps fill both teams needs.
Respectfully disagree with the contracts being handed out today Castillo’s 23 per is darn near a bargain
You’re both talking apples and oranges. The ONLY reason to trade Bellinger would be to LOSE his contract, NOT take on a worse one. Then reinvest that money in something that makes sense. Castillo doesn’t make sense. Cubs wouldn’t need a prospect haul for Bellinger.; Just losing his contract would be the benefit. If it comes to that, I’d rather just keep Bellinger. Cubs have enough pitching. But the prize would be the money to spend.
I think the reason to trade Bellinger is the presence of Happ, Suzuki, Armstrong, Cassie and Alcantara. Perhaps they dont need another starter but Castillo is talented he would be an upgrade to the rotation. I don’t think the Cubs are hurting for money they really don’t need the salary relief. All they need is pen help and perhaps a catcher at this point.
Castillo would be a bad contract for a bad contract. That is dumb for both teams. Bellinger is more valuable to the Cubs than Castillo. They need a bat more than a starter. And those OF’s are still available to them. They might not like it but they’ll have to deal with for a little while. Bellinger might even bring more at the deadline than now anyway when the money comes down a little. And Suzuki isn’t the greatest OF. He checks out sometimes where Bellinger is solid defensively. He helps 2 ways.
Bellinger hit a home run in Seattle was 2020, so there is that.
===========================
He’s only had 11 ABs in Seattle since 2020, so I am not sure how many HRs you were expecting in those 11 ABs.
So there is that.
You made a bad trade proposal, it happens to all of us. Get over it now.
He’s been playing in the national league you goofball.
When was the last time DeShaun Watson hit a home run in Seattle?
Look it up…….
Look all these people that are saying Boyd is going to start aren’t really looking at the big picture. He’s like 34 and just got over TJ surgery. If you dreamers think he’s going to toss 200 innings as a starter you are plain delusional. Will he start some games? Absolutely. I have no idea how many but I’d bet he spends a bunch of time in the pen either as a late inning guy or a long man. If they keep him healthy all year, And Counsell has proven to be pretty good at that then all the better. If somebody goes on the IL he can slide into that spot pretty easily. His 200 innings days are over. you all need to figure that out. And I don’t know what these comments about Belli hitting HR’s in Seattle and Deshaun Watson are about but 11AM is way to early to be doing Wild Turkey shots.
I dont think more than 5 guys throw 200 innings in 2025. And one of them sure as heck won’t be Boyd. But they didn’t sign him as a reliever if they wanted a guy who was primarily a reliever there were cheaper better options.
I hope they’re not done yet. There are still options out there. They have a pretty good pen right now but it can be deepened and upgraded to be sure. You just give Counsell the P’s and Hottovy and CC can figure out how to keep them all healthy. There’s a long way to go. before Feb. No matter how deep you think you are something can jump up and bite you.
I imagine there are a few new relievers headed to Chicago. The bullpen was what really held the Cubs back last year. It’s probably the most difficult position to upgrade and know what to expect but I gotta believe they will try.
Cubs bullpen was one of the best in baseball the 2nd half of 24. It was Hoyers fault he didn’t start out with a better pen because he’s always good at adding to it. But he put all his faith in guys who got injured and never came back. Brown , Merryweather, Little, Alzolay. That was a pretty good chunk of who the people were to be the back end of the pen. And Merryweather came back but you could see there was still something badly wrong with him. Cubs have some young guys who are a year older and more experienced but I hope Hoyer stops making the same mistake every year.
Uncle – as you say, those 4 relievers were what Hoyer hung his hat on, depending on them to be a big part of the pen. Not many teams would survive loosing that much of their bullpen. You can’t blame Jed for not anticipating that much damage.
You’re right though, he is good at adapting with the pen. Hopefully he won’t have to deal with it this year.
Don’t look at the career numbers. They aren’t going to tell you anything about his 2025 2026 numbers.
I just remember he looked pretty darn good in the ALCS last year and probably should have had a longer leash than he did. I think he got pulled a little early.
So I should ignore his career numbers and do what? Just look at those 8 starts????
What a dumb comment.
He has ugly career numbers and is coming off serious injury. Maybe he’s who he was in 2024 but I wouldn’t bet on it.
Might be dumb comment. Maybe the 30 teams and myself are dumb for using scouting and analytics. We should should just buy a package of baseball cards and look at the career stats instead.
Dude you just used the word we to try and lump yourself together with pretend teams based on pretend information. Come on man……
Boyd has poor career numbers. He has a bad track record for health. All he has going for him are those 8 recent starts.
YourDreamGM,
Great point! That’s exactly what I meant by stating that Castillo still has a lot to prove at age 32; besides, Hancock could step into that Mariners rotation and fill the open spot. Mariners would have Hancock, Woo, Gilbert, Miller, and Kirby in the rotation. IMO, that would still be solid.
Also, does Seattle potentially hold on to Castillo until the deadline? If he does well in ’25, could that lift his value a bit?
As for Bellinger, what are the options if Chicago decides to deal him? Or what will Hoyer do in this situation?
@DCDude2007 What’s wrong with Castillo again? Lol. Guy was fantastic last year. Eventually he needs to slow down. Strike outs went down so that’s a warning but he can still be effective or even take them up a bit for a few years at least. No big leaguer has thrown more 96+ MPH pitches this year with 19″+ of run than Luis Castillo. 20m is a bargain. No reason to trade him unless you get more value. I only show up for trades and most signings. I don’t follow every story. They don’t like him? Crying poor? Talent wise he’s one of their best pitchers. Just as good as the other 2.
No idea what Hoyer will do. He gave out that awful contract. Look at the surprising number of people who thought that contract is good. Same ones who are telling you Castillo isn’t good. Using career numbers. That’s why YourDreamGM is one of the few names you recognize. These people are wrong so much they gotta get a new name every year. Anyways he obviously values Bellinger more than anyone else. So to trade him he would need to see and admit his failure. I have no idea of he is capable. But if you eat enough salary you can trade anyone. Guy can still play and they need him. Every team needs him. So why pay him to play somewhere else? Maybe they swap him for another bad contract at a position of greater need. Will have to pay a chunk of his 26 option in case he opts in and unless he improves or makes a poor decision he will be opting in. It’s tricky but can be done. Only problem is they over value him. I heard they thought he would opt out. I said 5 minutes after I heard his contract had a player option that he would use it. They have a player evaluation problem with him so unless they wake up or really really want rid of him how can they trade him.
@NOT mydreamGM:
Bellingers contract is not awful. Cubs are currently about $35M under the cap – and pretty well set for 2025. Plenty of room if or when the opportunities arise.
Bellingers a different hitter than he was 4 or 5 years ago. Maybe not as dangerous for power, but yet in some ways better. The important thing is that he makes the Cubs a better team offensively.
Whether he’s playing OF or 1B or DH – he makes the lineup better. Not to mention the insurance he provides should injuries or regression happen. Your paying a small price for that production, leadership and the added insurance luxury. He’s a middle of the order bat on almost any team in baseball.
You obviously didn’t follow much Cub baseball last season. And with Paredes they’ve got a nice lineup.
If his contract isn’t awful why did he opt in? Is he stupid? Loves Chicago so much he will take much less $ to stay there?
If Bellinger would have opted out of his contract, he would be looking at 5/100 million. Why would you opt out and deal with the headache when you’re going to make about 1/3 of that total in just one season staying with the Cubs and having a pillow on the back of that year at 25 million?
Seriously it’s called risk vs reward. There is very little risk to opting into the second year of a 3 year deal guaranteeing you over 50 million over the next two years vs testing the market. Especially when you factor in how awful Wrigley was for hitters last year.
Bellinger proved that 23 was not a fluke, his road numbers were very much on par with his 2023 production. If he repeats/come close to repeating and shows he’s still a plus defender in RF, he’s going to net himself an additional 75 million plus his 32 million. Wouldn’t you bet on yourself for an additional 100 million dollars? I would.
23 was a fluke. Everyone team knew that a year ago. Every team except the Cubs knew it was a awful contract 2 years ago.
@Blackpink
So career stats tell you what you’ll see from him?
that makes no sense.
His career stats suggest what you’ll see from him. Otherwise it is a pure guessing game.
@Joe
Baseball is always a guessing game, the most random players could have career years.
In fact, Matthew Boyd for the last 6 years, has averaged a 125 ERA+
His ERA+ is 97 over the past 6 years. When a players’ career ERA+ is only 92, the chances of having a 125 is about -0-.
If i am not looking at his career numbers then what on earth am I looking at? 8 starts???
If one ignores career numbers, then how do they choose a player? Why pay Soto $500M+ if we ignore his career numbers? Heck, they ignore my career numbers and sign me for only $1M.
@JoeBrady Career numbers are past results. This isn’t the 90s 2000s. Some teams won’t say all but some realize paying for past results is a bad strategy. I want to to predict the future. Soto in his mid 20s is fine for paying for his career stats. 2025 projections support his career stats. Just don’t pay Verlander Scherzer on their career stats. Obviously most people won’t be as good in 20s as 30s. Pitchers gain lose velocity. Add pitches. Attack differently. Get hurt. Hitters change swing. Lose bat speed. Best not to use old past stats to try to predict future performance. But if you must stick with what have you done for me lately thinking.
Pitchers gain lose velocity. Add pitches. Attack differently. Get hurt. Hitters change swing. Lose bat speed. Best not to use old past stats to try to predict future performance.
===============================
And velocity, the number of pitches, injury history, etc., are all numbers.
That’s why I said stats instead of numbers or data. And I wouldn’t use old numbers data either.
It’s weird. I wouldn’t say the cost is too high, it’a reasonable enough, but yet if you’re a cubs fan you probably feel like it’s just a tiny bit high lol. But when healthy, I think he’s worth this for sure
The nature of FA is highest bid wins. 29 other teams said too much. Boyd is a bulldog. Chicago fans are going to like him. Check out his charity. He’s a great person!
seems a little high but as a cubs fan i personally don’t care about the money of a billionaire. jed is in his ‘last year’ so he needs to make the playoffs. i only care when Ricketts complains about money and tries to make it the fans problem. broke billionaire
Amen.
Make sure you clowns look him up when you go to Wrigley next time and a chunk of concrete doesn’t hit you in the head because Ricketts spent a half billion dollars of his own money replacing every part of that park except the upper deck. Go find him and tell him he’s cheap. Make sure you bring your phone so you can get a video.
Upgrading his own assets is not an act of charity. It’s an investment in his business. It’s not a bad thing, but it certainly doesn’t mean he’s loose with a dollar. It seems like the people who know the least about business defend Ricketts the most.
And the fact that he did that during a pandemic when he couldn’t even let fans into the park means what to you? Wow. And he’s calling me dumb.
It’s just a business decision. And it probably made a lot more sense to renovate during the pandemic when there is no one there, and when construction companies want the work to stay afloat.
Guys, the renovations (or 95% of them) were completed long, long before the pandemic. It started after the 2014 season ended and was completed in 2019.
There are still a few sections that seat replacement is being done on a rotating basis, but all that work was done pre-pandemic.
And—one of the more majors issues here–is though it was budgeted at $575M, most stories report that the work cost over $1B, almost double first estimates.
All done out of ownership’s pockets and with no city, state, local (known) taxes, etc.
they have certainly made their money back on those renovations over the course of a decade, especially during the world series and playoff years. ricketts has made money a fans problem time and time again @uncle doesnt know what hes talking about
Uncle was pretty much correct in saying that Ricketts gets unfairly called “cheap”. I think you are making an assumption that he’s made that money back. Even using simple math, it would be $100 mill a year pack in the pockets over the past ten. (of which, the pandemic years fall)
Uncle’s facts are a little off, but his premise is fair.
Dude, the value of their enterprise is worth Billions (with an s) more than what they’ve put into it, in under 15 years of ownership. The cash flow from year to year is completely immaterial to them making a profit. Uncle’s premise is idiotic.
Fred—it’s OK—certainly agree that the value of the team is worth a TON more than what it was purchased for. No argument there.
My responses were to Drew–who claimed that they had already made over a billion back on the renovations….not sure how that is able to be validated and then to Uncle who implied that Ricketts isn’t cheap.
I’m not sure the fair definition of “cheap” here—but considering we know he/they spent a billion dollars in a five year span of renovations and then annually upwards of $275-300 million (just guessing), I wouldn’t call them “cheap”.
I 100% agree with you about them making a profit, and it’s their right to do so. It’s their money.
Believe me, as a long time season ticket holder, I would love to see them spend more than the Mets—but that’s their right and decision to make.
Yes, it’s certainly their right to make a profit and spend how they see fit. It’s also my right as a fan, and season ticket holder, to call out the Ricketts family for spending less on player payroll than they should relative to ticket prices. Finally, let’s remember that the Cubs were around a long time before the Ricketts started sniffing around and will be around a long time after the Ricketts are gone. They are caretakers of the franchise, not the creators of it. And they could be doing a much better job.
Good for him. Quality clubhouse and community guy when he was with Detroit. He pitched very well after coming back from injury this year, including going head to head with Skubal in the playoffs. He also had some success with Seattle out of the pen a couple years ago. I hope he has turned a corner in his career.
Coming off flexor tendon surgery he pitched 13 innings for the Mariners with a 4.4 SIERA and 9% K-BB. Lost season.
I like it. Rather do this than Montas.
Contracts are out of control when horrible pitchers like Boyd are getting this much. If you want to know why WAR is a terrible stat, go look at his 2018 and 2019 season
How was he in WWII? That’s ancient history too.
Ancient history like the few remaining brain cells you had.
“if you want to know why WAR is a terrible stat”
@zone
He started 32 games, had 238 strikeouts, and had 180 innings.
You act like a 3.5 bWAR is elite, he was simply a good pitcher in 2019 according to bWAR a little more than a solid starter, which he was.
He’s not horrible either, Boyds ERA+ over the last 6 years is an average of 125, which is 25% above league average.
Which is pretty good, he just deals with injury’s quite a bit.
Stop trying to pick and choose random stats to make your argument. His era+ is terrible, his 6 year avg you try to bring up is aided by the fact he barely pitched any innings and one year is at 200+ because he threw like 20 innings. His era and fip are also horrible just like him.
@zone
lol, you’re sad….very sad.
@Zone
Seems like someone is a little mad.
keep crying my friend.
Nobody is mad you’re just ignorant, can’t do simple math and you’re a liar. We aren’t friends either.
lol, you’re sad….very sad.
=========================
Numbers are either right or wrong. They aren’t sad.
go look at his 2018 and 2019 season
==========================
I think you are missing a critical component of WAR, which is the replacement value. When you pitch that many innings, the difference between a league-average ERA, and a minor league ERA, it’s huge.
@Zonedeads
There are similar sentiments to yours under every new contract signing article EVERY year. Accept the fact that the business of MLB continues to prosper. It’s like going to the supermarket and complaining that a loaf of bread doesn’t cost a nickel anymore.
Not a bad depth pick up for the Cubbies.
You can’t be serious? 29 friggin million for a fringe retread?
@cooper
Boyds ERA+ over the last 6 years is an average of 125, which is 25% above league average.
Which is pretty good, he just deals with injury’s quite a bit.
His ERA+ is 97 over his last 6 seasons.
@Joe
I must have calculated it wrong. my bad.
Who’s the sad one now?
@zone
Why would I be sad?
I made a mistake, and admitted to it.
Mid tier guys getting paid more.because no team want to pay the $30-35M top tier guys are asking.
This is ridiculous.
Too expensive.
Pricey, but so was Kikuchi. The top of the market’s going to be crazy.
Already is. Snell got $36.4 million AAV.
But baseball is dead and almost every team is losing money and has to cut payroll because of… (RSNs, bad fans, stupid owners, fill in the blank)
The cubs , being the cubs. Big overpay for avg performance. It all depends on weather to move y . They badly need C , RP, CL… dumpster diving jed
Did the Red Line run over your keyboard?
If I am a Sox fan, I am keeping a very low profile.
They have to move belli , dam spell check and my vision problems
If mediocre pitching is this expensive, teams can make a killing trading cheap arms. Calling on the Pirates to see what they can get in Falter or Cruz who are arguably better than Boyd and Montas.
Boyds ERA+ over the last 6 years is an average of 125, which is 25% above league average.
Which is pretty good, he just deals with injury’s quite a bit.
It was 97.
!
Going to be a lot of complaining in Cleveland today.
Cleveland didn’t rush him back and should be a good spot starter and long relief man. Did not cost a draft pick and will be a tutor for the younger pitchers
You want a pitcher with a battery ERA near 5 to be a tutor to the younger pitchers?
@knicks
Boyds ERA+ over the last 6 years is an average of 125, which is 25% above league average.
Which is pretty good, he just deals with injury’s quite a bit.
It was 97.
@joe
I think the website I used to calculate it didn’t take innings into account, etc… without the counting of innings it would be 125, but you’re right, it is 97.
IMHO, for things like this, it is best to use Baseball reference. They allow you click any range of years and do the calculation for you. FG is good for a lot of things, but not for that.
@Joe
Yeah i agree haha.
For the price this has to be the fifth starter role on the team.
Hope would be that Matthew Boyd 2025-2026 is Kyle Hendricks 2023 (not 2024). Or Jason Hammel/John Lackey 2016.
His age, salary, potential is either replacing Hendricks or Drew Smyly.
I really don’t see the Cubs operation being that of paying $15M a year for a flexible bullpen arm.
Kind of a lot of money for a depth piece, so I’m hedging, at the beginning of December this is a back of the rotation arm. Am still hoping there is a pitcher out there that will slot in and move Taillon to the 4/5 spot.
The price of mediocrity continues to rise.
This bodes well for Yankees cause Cortes with 2 yrs control and due to make $8 million and Stroman at $18.5 million are a bargain compared to Montas and Boyd’s contracts. Yankees very well may end up keeping Cortes as their 5th starter and trade Stroman when they find out what front end pitching going to cost this winter
It all depends on Soto. Not getting him back would mean trading for a quality corner infielder or outfielder.
I still have the Yanks as slight favorites vs. the field in signing Soto.
It may not happen until AFTER Soto makes a decision, but I don’t think it’s firemen on it.
It may not happen until AFTER Soto makes a decision, but I don’t think it’s dependent on it.
Cortez is a FA after 2025.
And here I thought the Cubs would’ve been happy to be rid of Smyly’s contract…
Yes sir, Robert—this is either a direct replacement of Smyly or Hendricks.
Money, age, coin flip of good season/age related season. Everything matches up.
To me, at $15M, it’s replacing Hendricks at the back of the rotation and hoping for the 2023 version, not the 2024 (please).
@mike127. I’m sure Hendricks is kicking himself now. He might’ve got 10 million if he waited.
Hoyer continues to make the same mistakes over and over and over and over and over and over. This is how you burn through 240 million dollars and finish 82-82.
Smart signing that allows a swingman pitcher in Cubs organization.
Cubs already have a swingman in Assad who’s done well in the role over the past two seasons.
They have a ton of 5th or 6th starter options. What a waste of 15 million dollars. Go get a closer or a top of the rotation guy. Assad, Wesneski, Killian, all cost a fraction of the price. Hoyer just sucks at allocating funds. 240 million dollar payroll with 0 elite free agents on the roster.
Led Hoyer:
Case in point. Jed Hoyer needs to step up his game and actually go after elite free agents instead of sitting at the desk talking about it.
2/$25 mil guaranteed for a veteran with a career 5 ERA A is a “smart” signing??? you could get one of those anyone and for a lot cheeper.
Crazy sign. Nearly $15mil for a limited innings pitcher who’s really never had consistency. If he sat on the market a couple more months, no doubt a team could’ve saved millions. Just an odd sign. Cubs could’ve applied that money much more wisely.
This is a pretty good sign he wasn’t going to be sitting on the market a couple more months.
Who’s running after him to sign him for 2/$25 mil?
Well, we’ll never know. He must be quite a bargain in your mind. We’ll both see how this turns out.
@always
Who would you they rather gotten?
@Femboy
It’s not a matter of “who rather” it’s a matter that those types are a done a dozen. Absolutely nothing special about him that makes him worth that contract.
@Knicks
over the past 6 years, he has an average ERA+ of 125, 25% above a average.
You also didnt answer my question.
Who would you rather have?
@Fem
I read your previous post so you know you’re numbers are wrong. But I’m held off your question, Chapman and Scott are two lefty proven and that could likely be had for about $12-$15 mil if you wanted him out the own, which some suggested was their motive. I don’t agree but that’s that. In terms of starters, and obviously I don’t know what they’re asking for, but Severino, Buhler, and others are safe bet guys with mid risk (only money) high reward (mid to top of rotation stuff). Even a guy like Stroman might be a better option bedbugs the Yanks would likely eat a large portion of what’s due for a fringe prospect. But I guess it really boils down to what you’re expecting from Boyd? Are you viewing him as the dominant starter for the 10 games he pitched or viewing him as the 5 era injury prone pitcher for the last 7 years? O just don’t think he had the leverage or market to command 2/$25 guaranteed,, especially for a team not really looking to compete this year.
@knicks
I wouldn’t say Boyd would be an elite guy, but he’s definitely shown what he COULD do in the major leagues.
If he doesn’t start too well, I think he would be great for the bullpen based off of his 2024 season.
For stroman, he’s pretty good, but he’s starting to regress even more, and his velo has been down each year.
Severino is honestly a good 3-4 guy right now.
Buehler is a great bounce back option, but you do have to consider his two Tommy johns.
I think Boyd is one of the safer pitchers on the market, considering he can be a 4-5 starter, or a good bullpen guy.
I’m assuming Chapman and Scott would be Aroldis and Tanner.
Tanner is a great reliever, and is hin his prime, he’s decently young as well and coming off of a GREAT year in the bullpen with the padres.
Chapman is keeping his velo through old age (somehow, its pretty amazing)
but you can tell he’s regressing control wise, not to mention people are catching up to his velo, he’s really not the same pitcher he used to be, but he would still be a good bullpen guy to have, I agree.
Don’t get me wrong, Chapman is still very good, but he needs to work on control, and cutting down on runs.
What in the Boyd-Montas is going on?!
The Cubs are not serious about winning. Boyd isn’t terrible, but this hardly moves the needle. For 30 mill, a slightly below average, injury prone 34 year old, just doesn’t seem like a move that a team that wants to win makes. This ownership group got their ring. They aren’t hungry anymore at all.
Boy. They weren’t kidding when the Cubs said they wouldn’t be “in” on top tier pitching.
I guess $29+$1M doesn’t buy you as much as it used to! 39-1/2 good innings + 10 good relief appearances since the clock hit 2020 is worth $14.5 – $15M a year, wow.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for Matty. I’m of the belief that if someone wants to overpay you, take the money and run. This is though an EXTREME overpay.
THIS is Jed Hoyer’s big rotation acquisition? I know Counsell had to take the money, but he has to be wishing he never left Milwaukee.
Mets: this crappy starter will rev up our fanbase.
Cubs: hold my beer.
Boyd made his debut in 2015, not 2018.
He turned 12 postseason innings into guaranteed life changing $.
Think he stays healthy?
Wow, starting pitching is expensive.
I mean as a potential long man that can bounce back and forth between the bullpen and the rotation, that works. The price tag is high, but I have a feeling this is the rotation arm Hoyer had in mind and the rest of the moves will be small supplements…
Wtf? I don’t know what’s more surprising, the fact that he was projected to sign a 2/$25 deal or that he actually exceeded those projections. He over 30, had had numerous arm related major surgeries. He’s never had a full season(or even 50 IP) when he’s had a ERA under 4.50. He had what could easily be considered a flukish 2024. You can’t find a better lottery card for $12.5 mil on a 1 year deal? I’d rather try get Walker Buhler or Severino with that kind of money
So sad this is who Cubs wasted their money on. If he makes it 50 innings before surgery it will be shocking.
In a few days, we’ll read that the Orioles were interested.
I don’t get it whatsoever. He is an extremely injury-prone player with a career ERA of 4.85. In his ten seasons, he’s had only two seasons with a bWAR> 1.7.
I guess they are extrapolating off of his 8 starts last year, while ignoring the rest of his career, and hoping that he throws 140 innings.
Hoyer is an idiot. Last year his stupidity turned a potential playoff team into a.500. More of the same coming this off-season. Everyone and their mom knows the Cub need top of the rotation and top of bullpen arms. Hey let’s spend 38 percent of our off-season budget on Matt Boyd. Blake snell, no thanks. We want Matt Boyd.
@joe
Boyds ERA+ over the last 6 years is an average of 125, which is 25% above league average.
Which is pretty good, he just deals with injury’s quite a bit.
It’s not. His ERA+ is 97. Maybe you could argue that he is an injury-prone pitcher with mediocre results. His WAR over the past five seasons is a cumulative 1.7. You’d have to go back to 2019 to see when he was last worth this kind of money.
This is similar to what the Tigers were extrapolating off Kenta Maeda’s return from DL starts in ’23. Beware, Cubbies. Beware.
I had him to the Mets, with Cubs getting Eovaldi. I’m batting like .050 on these predictions the last three offseasons…
I think this will work at well for the CUBs.
Sure there is some injury concern but it is only 2 years. He has extra value as he can Relieve and Start.
If CUBs don’t expect 150 IP out of him and more like 50-120 IP his results should be better
He has extra value as he can Relieve and Start.
=======================
I assume that anyone can relieve. But Boyd has almost no history of having done so. He only has 21 innings of relief in ten years.
All the pitching deals look like overpays so far. So are they really overpays any more? Just have to get used to the new normal, I guess.
They used to say that home run hitters get paid. Now anybody who can heave a pitch gets paid, bigly.
$214 mil. payroll, same players, same Prez and GM, same owners, same fan’s expecting something different. Oh, but the ticket and watered down beer prices will go up. Sounds about right.
I wish the Mets got him instead of Montes, much better and left handed,
Pitchers often perform their best the second season after TJ
That must be what the Cubs are gambling on.
I love people being couch GM’s in the comments,
Did you come in here expecting opinions from real GMs?
@Joe
I definitely expected it, its just funny how many people are complaining about it.
Maybe they are complaining because they think it is a large overpayment. I think there is a tendency in here to complain about high salaries in general, but most of the posters are all looking at the same numbers and wondering why.
FWIW, it’s similar to the Angels signing Kikuchi.
@ joe
I would agree with kikuchi, but the angels love overpaying for free agents, and he got 30 mil more than I thought
I think his true value is around 40-50 mil
TR should hire a Cards Writer to write about the Cubs.
Unacceptable to have a Cubs writer writing about the Cubs.
And how dare they say the Cards are going to rebuild, when the Cards brass even says they’re rebuilding. It doesn’t fit my misguided agenda and overall ignorance!!!
😉
Boyd is a quality starter with great stuff when healthy
When he was with the Tigers, Boyd went on a run of starts and stats
that had Boyd as one of the best strikeout pitchers in the AL and one of the better LHSPs in the AL.
Boyd had what could arguably be called a breakout year in 2019 after posting a team-leading 3.5 rWAR, while also setting a Tigers record averaging 11..56 strikeouts per nine innings. Additionally, his 238 whiffs was sixth among AL pitchers and also ranked fifth all-time by a left-handed Tigers pitcher. On top of that, he only walked 50 batters in 185 1⁄3 innings.
He was a top of the rotation starter before injuries.
Boyd was very impressive with Cleveland in the playoffs.
Great character guy, family guy, involved in his own charities in Africa.
Boyd, if everything clicks, then the Cubs and the NL could be looking @ Jack Flaherty 2.0 in ’25 out of Boyd.
Wish Boyd well with the Cubs.
That is a lot of dollars, but it appears to be the going rate.
If Boyd is healthy and pitches to his abilities, then it could turn out to be a bargain for the Cubs.
This is one of the dumbest post on this site. Boyd has never been a top of the rotation pitcher.
He’s 34 years old. He’s not going to all the sudden become healthy ace.
Boyd had what could arguably be called a breakout year in 2019 after posting a team-leading 3.5 rWAR
========================
That’s one of the reasons I don’t like the signing. As you mentioned, that was his breakout year, but:
1-That was 6 years ago.
2-He still only had an ERA+ of 104, scarcely above average.
3-He led the league in HRs allowed.
4-And in the 5 years since then, he only has a cumulative 1.7 bWAR, with an ERA+ of 92, and a total of 163 IPs in five years.
This signing is definitely a high reward, medium risk type signing. The fact he hasn’t been anywhere close to a 100 innings for many years makes me think he’s a ticking time bomb. But if he remains healthy, the Cubs got a steal.
I don’t know which signing is worse, this one or Montas. Wow. I never want to hear MLB players complaining about salaries ever again. Smh
Hoyer has not shown me that he has any idea what it takes to build a playoff caliber team nor that he has a clue what this team actually needs.
Boyd is the type of signing you make if you are either rebuilding or have a solid playoff team and you think you can catch lightening in a bottle. This type of extremely high risk/high reward signing is ridiculous for the currently constructed Cubs team.
Or you think he will make 25-30 starts at the same 2.72 ERA he had in 8 starts last season. I don’t think that will happen, but Hoyer appears to.
Either that or they are taking the Dodgers approach of signing 3-4 extra starting pitchers in order to get enough innings pitched for the season.
Lets just congratulate him, wish him well and hope he succeeds. Its not our money and it has nothing to do with us. Not our business. No need to tear him down. Let it go. But of course “what a country!” and joy of the season to baseball fans every where.
Well said!!
Go Cubs Go!!!
Matt Boyd is like the new Rich Hill, dude’s career already has had 9 lives.
Really this is the signing they go with?!?! I’d have rather seen them take a flyer on Buehler. 2025 going to be another ho hum right around .500 season at this rate. They should’ve had the money to cover Bellinger easily with Heyward’s retained salary falling off. Feels like a 2021 replay coming up.
This one isn’t a great fit for the Cubs in my opinion, but good for Boyd getting this type of contract. If they’re setting him up to be in the rotation, i feel they should have gone elsewhere. The biggest need right now for the Cubs is in the bullpen and would have preferred they spend this money on a back end of the bullpen guy like Sewald and probably saved yourself a bit as well. I’ve got nothing against Boyd and maybe he will be in the pen, but this one is a bit of head scratcher for me.
Am I the only one that thinks Assad is underrated. I’d have him start before Boyd. I get the FIP issue, but it’s still lower than Boyd’s. Luckily, there is room for both. Also, Ben Brown looked amazing last year. Barring injury, Assad and Brown should absolutely be starting so that’s $15M for a bullpen guy that can fill in for injuries, except that he’ll likely be hurt himself. That’s a tough opportunity cost when they need a slugger and bullpen.
I’d have him start before Boyd.
======================
I was wondering about that myself. Imanaga, Steele, and Taillon are the obvious 1-2-3.
After that, the candidates are Ben Brown, Assad, Wesneski and Wicks. Is Boyd really better than those four?
@Joe and Manf
Agree about Assad, he’s very underrated especially considering how effective he has been coming out of the bullpen. Brown definitely looked ready until the injury surfaced. But I don’t think the Cubs yet trust Wicks or Wesneski. And forget Killian or Thompson
I expect Horton and then Birdsell will play roles after the all star break. Overall I don’t mind where the roster is now – only an addition to the C position (and maybe another reliever) is likely.
If a move presents itself to upgrade the roster considerably, I could see it. But with Bellinger and Shaw and the young guys knocking on the door, I’m content and ready to roll.
A lot can happen in a season and we’ve seen it happen to all ballclubs in the last few seasons when it comes to pitchers. Jed is stockpiling them in hopes that a few will be serviceable at the end of the year.
Wow, good for Boyd. He was battling injuries for multiple years. Not only did he claw his way back into the bigs but he got into the playoffs and now a pretty big contract.
Better they sign Cleveland’s pitching coach. Always leary of these one year wonders with TJ surgery.
Let me add that Hoyer must be under financial pressure from the Ricketts. Tom bought a lot of real estate around Wrigley Field and the demographics of the fan base has changed. Thereby, creating a ceiling on spending.
HUGE overpay. Not worth it.
Boyd has 48 appearances, 38 starts, over the past 4 seasons. Cubs are paying $14.5 million for 12 appearances/season. The Dodgers model. Cubs need 3 more like him to have enough innings to complete the season.
I’m both confused and impressed by the fact that according to the article Boyd debuted with the Blue Jays in 2018 yet somehow established himself in the majors in 2016 with the Tigers
Usually it’s his reputation that precedes him, but in this case, he proceeded his reputation
Seems weak -cubs fans-i expected more 14 million-lol
WOW!! thats a lot of lettuce as Dennis Eckersly would say. For a dude who’s been injured as much as Boyd, the CUBBIES are dishing out some cash! Makes you wonder how much $$$$ the healthy guys are going to get!
Let’s see here.
1. Don’t resign Smyly. Check.
2. Sign Boyd. Check.
3. Remove the wasted payroll to add more wasted payroll.
Yep Jed wants out pretty bad and is going all in on the hatchet job.
i typed this with my left hand. lol
impressive. (typed with my left hand)
i apologize to you for bob nutting’s insolence
looking at this guys stats and its wild how “mid” everything is and then one season he struck out 238 batters in 170 innings wtf
nice signing
Paying a sp who hasn’t pitched more than 70 innings since 2019 30 million dollars is insane. Things like this are why cubs have a high payroll but continue to underperform. Hoyer should have been fired a year or two ago. Shame on Ricketts for not valuing his fans enough to demand better from his president of baseball operations.
Once again, OLD NEWS.
I’m saying Boras realized he made a mistake last year with waiting and is all about getting things done early this year. Soto is expected to sign (or announce) in the next few days which should allow for a lot of dominoes to fall into place.
Game changer. Or maybe channel changer
Its not like there are top tier arms looking for a 1 year deal was out there or anything…
Ownership is just building a cheap team and trying to pocket the savings. Fans need to punish these decisions by refusing to spend money supporting them.