Matt Boyd

Matthew Boyd Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

By Darragh McDonald | June 28, 2023 at 6:09pm CDT

JUNE 28: Boyd underwent successful surgery in Dallas this morning, Stavenhagen tweets.

JUNE 27: The Tigers have informed reporters, including Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, that left-hander Matthew Boyd will require Tommy John surgery. The club also announced a slate of moves, with right-hander Matt Manning activated from the 60-day injured list and left-hander Anthony Misiewicz recalled from Triple-A Toledo. Boyd has been placed on the 60-day IL while right-hander Will Vest has been placed on the 15-day IL with a right lower leg strain.

The news comes as a very unfortunate development for both Boyd and the Tigers. The left-hander already missed a significant chunk of time in recent seasons as he required flexor tendon surgery in September of 2021 which forced him to miss roughly a full year. He returned in September of last year and was able to toss 13 1/3 innings down the stretch.

The Tigers took a chance on Boyd being able to return to form, signing him in the offseason to a one-year, $10MM deal. The club was coming off a nightmare 2022 season wherein they went 66-96 and lost pitchers like Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal to surgeries that would keep them out well into the 2023 season. They were undoubtedly hoping that Boyd could serve as a stabilizing force and perhaps turn into a trade candidate by midseason if they were again out of contention.

He made 15 starts with an elevated 5.45 ERA, though that was likely inflated by a 62% strand rate. Due to his 24.1% strikeout rate and 8.3% walk rate, his 4.36 FIP and 4.16 SIERA indicate he deserved better results. Given the pitching injuries around the league, plenty of clubs would have looked past the ERA and called up Detroit for trade talks but none of that will happen now. Boyd will miss the remainder of the 2023 season and much of the 2024 campaign as well.

On a personal level, it has to be incredibly frustrating for Boyd. From 2016 to 2019, he was a serviceable rotation member in Detroit, tossing 588 innings with a 4.67 ERA. But he then struggled in 2020 and has since endured three straight injury-shortened campaigns, with next year sure to be a fourth.

For the Tigers, this is the latest in a brutal succession of serious surgeries required for their starting staff. Each of Boyd, Mize, Skubal and Spencer Turnbull have required either Tommy John or flexor tendon surgery in the past few years. In addition to that, pitchers like Manning, Eduardo Rodriguez, Alex Faedo and Beau Brieske have dealt with other ailments that have pushed them to the injured list.

Manning is at least able to return today with Skubal and Rodriguez not too far behind him. That group will join a rotation mix that also consists of Michael Lorenzen, Joey Wentz and Reese Olson, though Lorenzen could find himself on the trade block this summer as he’s an impending free agent with a 3.97 ERA. The Tigers have a 34-43 record and would make sense as sellers, though they are only 4.5 games out in the weak American League Central. The mounting injuries will make it hard for them to stay in the race but the impending returns of some of those injured players could perhaps help them stay afloat.

Tigers Sign Matt Boyd To One-Year Deal

By Darragh McDonald | December 14, 2022 at 1:45pm CDT

December 14: The Tigers have officially announced that they’ve signed Boyd to a one-year deal.

December 1: The Tigers and left-hander Matt Boyd are in agreement on a deal to bring him back to Detroit. Boyd will make a $10MM salary with $1MM in performance bonuses available to him. The deal is pending a physical.

Boyd, 32 in February, was drafted by the Blue Jays and made his MLB debut with them, but he went to the Tigers in the 2015 David Price trade and has spent the bulk of his career there. Boyd then established himself as a solid member of the rotation over the next four years, getting into 109 games over the 2016-2019 stretch. His 4.67 ERA wasn’t elite, but he limited walks to a 7.3% rate and struck out 23.4% of batters faced.

That latter number was boosted by a strong 30.2% strikeout rate in 2019, which was among the top 10 among qualified pitchers that year. With the Tigers enduring a miserable season, Boyd was frequently mentioned in trade rumors but the club never found an acceptable deal and held onto him. There was no real rush to secure a deal as they still had years of control over Boyd’s services. However, his performance nosedived in the shortened 2020 season, as the lefty posted a 6.71 ERA over 12 starts that year. He posted better results in 2021 but then dealt with arm injuries that eventually led to flexor tendon surgery in September.

The Tigers could have held onto Boyd for 2022 via arbitration but decided to non-tender him given that he was going to miss at least part of the season. He signed on with the Giants, who gave him a $5.2MM guarantee. As this year’s trade deadline rolled around, Boyd was still working his way back from that surgery and the Giants had slipped from contention. They flipped him to Seattle alongside catcher Curt Casali for a couple of prospects. Boyd ended up returning to a big league mound in September and pitched 13 1/3 innings for Seattle down the stretch. He posted a 1.35 ERA in that time with a 24.5% strikeout rate but a 15.1% walk rate in that small sample.

The Tigers clearly felt encouraged enough by Boyd’s return to take a flier on him. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press has reported that the club intends to use Boyd out of the rotation. Boyd averaged 92.6 mph on his four-seam fastball in 2022, which matches his career high. He was pitching in relief this year and hasn’t proven himself capable of maintaining that velocity as a starter, but it’s possible he can continue building strength as he gets further from the surgery. He also struggled with control in his time this year, but it’s often said that is the last thing to return to a pitcher after a lengthy absence.

There’s risk involved in this signing, but it’s a fairly logical risk for a team in Detroit’s position. They hoped to return to contention in 2022 but just about everything went wrong and they finished 66-96. One of the major factors in their disappointing season was a parade of pitching injuries that they will still be dealing with next year. Casey Mize required Tommy John surgery in June and will likely miss most of the upcoming campaign. Tarik Skubal underwent flexor tendon surgery in August and seems likely to miss time as well. Spencer Turnbull should be able to return after missing all of 2022 due to Tommy John, but he’s an unknown after an entire year off.

There are question marks all over the roster that will make it difficult for the Tigers to compete in 2023, but they will still need some arms to fill out the rotation. Boyd should slot next to Eduardo Rodriguez, Matt Manning and Turnbull in four of the spots. The final position could go to internal options like Joey Wentz, Beau Brieske, Alex Faedo or others, though the club could also seek to find further additions. If Boyd returns to health and effectiveness, he can provide a stabilizing veteran presence for a group with a lot of uncertainty. If the Tigers are out of contention when the deadline rolls around again, Boyd and his one-year deal could perhaps finally net them the trade return they’ve failed to recoup in previous years, with Skubal or Mize perhaps ready to retake their positions by that time. Boyd’s salary brings the club’s commitments to $118MM, per Roster Resource. Last year’s Opening Day figure was $135MM, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the two sides were in agreement. Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported the $10MM ballpark figure. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press first laid out the $10MM salary with performance bonuses. Heyman added that the bonuses can be worth $1MM.

Every Team’s Initial September Call-Ups

By Steve Adams and Anthony Franco | September 1, 2022 at 10:59pm CDT

Each season as the calendar flips to September, we see a flurry of transactions around Major League Baseball. Active roster sizes jump from 26 to 28 for the season’s final month, with teams permitted to bring up no more than one additional pitcher. We’ve already covered a host of transactions with 40-man roster implications throughout the day at MLBTR. Here’s a full round-up of teams’ initial September roster moves.

American League West

Houston Astros:

Selected contract of RHP Hunter Brown
Selected contract of C Yainer Diaz
Corresponding moves: IF Niko Goodrum and RHP Peter Solomon designated for assignment

Los Angeles Angels:

Selected contract of OF Ryan Aguilar
Selected contract of RHP Zack Weiss
Corresponding moves: OF Steven Duggar and INF Jose Rojas designated for assignment

Oakland Athletics

Selected contract of LHP Ken Waldichuk from Triple-A Las vegas
Recalled OF Cody Thomas from Triple-A Las Vegas
Corresponding move: RHP David McKay designated for assignment

Seattle Mariners

Reinstated LHP Matthew Boyd from 60-day injured list
Recalled OF Taylor Trammell from Triple-A Tacoma
Corresponding moves: None required

Texas Rangers

Selected contract of RHP Jesus Tinoco from Triple-A Round Rock
Recalled OF Nick Solak from Triple-A Round Rock
Corresponding move: Transferred RHP Josh Sborz to 60-day injured list

American League Central

Chicago White Sox

Recalled OF Adam Haseley from Triple-A Charlotte
Recalled RHP Matt Foster from Triple-A Charlotte
Corresponding move: None required

Cleveland Guardians

Recalled SS Ernie Clement from Triple-A Columbus
Reinstated RHP Cody Morris from 60-day injured list
Corresponding move: Designated RHP Anthony Castro for assignment

Detroit Tigers

Recalled 1B Spencer Torkelson from Triple-A Toledo
Selected contract of INF Ryan Kreidler from Triple-A Toledo
Corresponding move: Transferred RHP Rony Garcia to 60-day injured list

Kansas City Royals

Selected contract of RHP Daniel Mengden from Triple-A Omaha
Recalled OF Nate Eaton from Triple-A Omaha
Corresponding move: None required

Minnesota Twins

Added LHP Austin Davis (previously claimed off waivers from Red Sox) to active roster
Selected contract of OF Billy Hamilton from Triple-A St. Paul
Corresponding move: Transferred OF Trevor Larnach to 60-day injured list

American League East

Baltimore Orioles

Selected contract of 1B Jesus Aguilar from Triple-A Norfolk
Recalled LHP DL Hall from Triple-A Norfolk
Corresponding move: Designated INF Richie Martin for assignment

Boston Red Sox

Recalled C Connor Wong from Triple-A Worcester
Selected contract of RHP Eduard Bazardo
Corresponding moves: None required

New York Yankees

Recalled SS Oswald Peraza from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
Activated INF Marwin Gonzalez from paternity list
Corresponding moves: None required

Tampa Bay Rays

Reinstated RHP Matt Wisler from the 15-day injured list
Recalled INF Jonathan Aranda from Triple-A Durham
Corresponding moves: None required

Toronto Blue Jays

Recalled RHP Casey Lawrence from Triple-A Buffalo
Added OF Bradley Zimmer (claimed off waivers from Phillies this week) to active roster
Corresponding moves: None required

National League West

Arizona Diamondbacks

Selected contract of IF Wilmer Difo from Triple-A Reno
Reinstated RHP Keynan Middleton and LHP Kyle Nelson from 15-day injured list
Corresponding move: Designated RHP Noe Ramirez for assignment

Colorado Rockies

Recalled INF Alan Trejo from Triple-A Albuquerque
Recalled RHP Chad Smith from Triple-A Albuquerque
Corresponding moves: None required

Los Angeles Dodgers

Reinstated LHP Clayton Kershaw from 15-day injured list
Recalled 3B Miguel Vargas from Triple-A Oklahoma City
Corresponding moves: None required

San Diego Padres

Recalled INF Matt Beaty from Triple-A El Paso
Recalled RHP Reiss Knehr from Triple-A El Paso
Corresponding moves: None required

San Francisco Giants

Selected contract of recently-acquired OF Lewis Brinson
Recalled IF David Villar from Triple-A Sacramento
Corresponding move: Outrighted LHP Jonathan Bermudez to Triple-A Sacramento

National League Central

Chicago Cubs

Selected contract of RHP Jeremiah Estrada from Triple-A Iowa
Recalled INF David Bote from Triple-A Iowa
Corresponding move: Transferred Wade Miley from 15-day injured list to 60-day injured list

Cincinnati Reds

Selected contract of 2B/3B Spencer Steer
Selected contract of RHP Fernando Cruz
Corresponding moves: Transferred INF Mike Moustakas and RHP Jeff Hoffman from 10-day injured list to 60-day injured list

Milwaukee Brewers

Recalled RHP Luis Perdomo from Triple-A Nashville
Recalled OF Esteury Ruiz from Triple-A Nashville
Corresponding moves: None required

Pittsburgh Pirates

Recalled RHP Johan Oviedo from Triple-A Indianapolis
Recalled OF Calvin Mitchell from Triple-A Indianapolis
Corresponding moves: None required

St. Louis Cardinals

Selected contract of OF Ben DeLuzio from Triple-A Memphis
Recalled RHP James Naile from Triple-A Memphis
Corresponding moves: None required

National League East

Atlanta Braves

Reinstated IF Orlando Arcia from 10-day injured list
Added recently-claimed RHP Jesse Chavez to active roster
Corresponding moves: None required

Miami Marlins*

To recall OF Bryan De La Cruz
To recall RHP Jeff Brigham
Corresponding moves: None required

New York Mets

Selected contract of INF Deven Marrero from Triple-A Syracuse
Recalled RHP Adonis Medina from Triple-A Syracuse
Corresponding move: Designated RHP Connor Grey for assignment

Philadelphia Phillies

Selected contract of RHP Vinny Nittoli from Triple-A Lehigh Valley
Recalled C Donny Sands from Triple-A Lehigh Valley
Corresponding moves: None required

Washington Nationals

Recalled C Tres Barrera from Triple-A Rochester
Recalled RHP Mason Thompson from Triple-A Rochester
Corresponding moves: None required

*Marlins moves reported by Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link)

Mariners Reinstate Evan White, Expected To Activate Matthew Boyd

By Anthony Franco | August 29, 2022 at 11:33pm CDT

The Mariners announced this afternoon that first baseman Evan White has been activated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Tacoma. Left-hander Matthew Boyd seems on the verge of following White in returning from the IL, as Chris McCosky of the Detroit News reports that he’ll be active for the M’s series in Detroit that kicks off tomorrow.

White has yet to play in the majors this season. The former first round pick underwent sports hernia surgery in March, and he’s spent the year on the IL. White initially began a minor league rehab assignment in mid-May, but he suffered a setback and was pulled off the assignment on two separate occasions. It wasn’t until the second week of August that he was able to get back into game action, returning to Tacoma on August 9.

Position players are allotted up to 20 days on rehab stints, so the Mariners had to activate White once that window closed. He still has all three minor league option years remaining, though, so they can keep him in Tacoma even as he reclaims his spot on the 40-man roster. White has struggled in 22 Triple-A games this season, although that’s largely to be expected as he tries to regain his timing after an extended absence. He underwent season-ending surgery on his left hip last July. The 26-year-old hasn’t had a consistent run of playing time since May 2021, so it’s only naturally he’d battle some rust in the early going.

The Mariners signed White to a $24MM guarantee in November 2019, committing to the then top prospect before he’d ever played a major league game. The club clearly believed he’d be their everyday first baseman for an extended stretch, moving to buy out three potential free agent years. That hasn’t transpired, as White has stumbled to a .165/.235/.308 line with a massive 37.6% strikeout rate in 306 MLB plate appearances between 2020-21. Ty France has long since passed him on the depth chart, but White is still guaranteed $18MM over the next three seasons. He’d only appeared in eight Triple-A games before this season, so he figures to be in line for an extended stretch against upper minors pitching now that he’s back to health.

Boyd has also yet to play in the big leagues this season, and his first appearance will be his team debut. The left-hander has spent the bulk of his career with the Tigers. He was a generally durable member of the rotation between 2017-20, starting 25+ games in all three full seasons and taking a full slate of 12 turns during the abbreviated 2020 campaign. Boyd struck out over 30% of opponents in 2019 and emerged as an in-demand trade candidate that summer, but the Tigers never found an offer to their liking and held onto him.

That didn’t pan out, as Boyd was hit hard in 2020. He looked on his way to a bit of a bounceback last year, but he began battling arm discomfort in June. An August return proved short-lived, and Boyd underwent flexor tendon surgery last September. That led Detroit to non-tender him after the season, and the Giants added him on a $5.2MM guarantee over the offseason. San Francisco intended for him to contribute to a playoff push, but the Giants struggled enough they dealt a few veterans at this summer’s trade deadline. Boyd was part of the sell-off, joining Curt Casali in heading to Seattle for a pair of minor leaguers.

While Boyd never suited up in black and orange, he’s now in position to pitch in a pennant race. Boyd has allowed just two runs with 14 strikeouts and no walks in eight innings of relief for Tacoma on a rehab stint in the past few weeks. He’ll step into a Seattle bullpen that skews extremely right-handed, giving manager Scott Servais a southpaw complement. The Washington native will look to help the Mariners snap their two-decade playoff drought while showing well in advance of a return trip to the open market.

The Mariners had a pair of vacancies on the 40-man roster, so no additional move was necessary to accommodate White’s reinstatement. The club will only need to make an active roster transaction to finalize Boyd’s return.

Giants Place Jakob Junis On 15-Day IL Due To Left Hamstring Strain

By Mark Polishuk | June 11, 2022 at 3:57pm CDT

3:57PM: Junis has been diagnosed with a more serious Grade 2 strain, The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly reports (Twitter link).

3:08PM: The Giants placed right-hander Jakob Junis on the 15-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain. The injury occurred in last night’s game, as Junis had to be removed after slipping off the mound. Outfielder Heliot Ramos has been called up from Triple-A to take Junis’ spot on the active roster.

More will be known about Junis’ recovery timeline once he undergoes an MRI, but the injury is obviously serious enough that the Giants went ahead with the IL placement even before more tests were conducted on the hamstring. Junis will now miss at least the next 15 days, and potentially longer should the strain prove to be a higher-grade issue.

After signing a one-year, $1.75MM free agent deal with San Francisco in March, Junis has seemingly become the latest pitcher to enjoy a career revival in the Bay Area. Junis posted a 5.36 ERA over 240 innings with the Royals from 2019-21, but has thus far pitched to a 2.63 ERA, 47.8% grounder rate, and a 5.3% walk rate over 48 frames in 2022. Advanced metrics (particularly a .231 BABIP, and a .266 wOBA that is far beneath his .325 xwOBA) indicate that some regression is probably inevitable, but it has nevertheless been a very solid start in terms of bottom-line numbers for the 29-year-old Junis.

This performance has helped stabilize a Giants rotation hurt by injuries, as Alex Cobb and Anthony DeSclafani are both still on the IL and Matthew Boyd has yet to pitch this season. On that front (hat tip to MLB.com’s Maria I. Guardado), Cobb still just in the playing-catch phase as he recovers from a neck strain, while DeSclafani is set to begin a rehab assignment. DeSclafani was moved to the 60-day IL due to ankle inflammation, and can’t be activated until June 21. Boyd underwent flexor tendon surgery back in September and has advanced to the point where he will be facing hitters in a live batting-practice session.

Sam Long was already added to the roster to help out the rotation, and since the Giants have an off-day on June 16, they might be able to manage this lack of a fifth starter until DeSclafani is able to be reinstated. If not, the Giants could turn to a bullpen game, as is the plan for today’s game against the Dodgers.

Giants Acquire Luke Williams From Phillies, Place Matthew Boyd On 60-Day Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | March 27, 2022 at 2:34pm CDT

The Giants have acquired utilityman Luke Williams from the Phillies in exchange for minor league third baseman Will Toffey and cash considerations. Both teams have announced the trade. To create a 40-man roster spot, the Giants placed southpaw Matthew Boyd on the 60-day injured list.

Williams was designated for assignment by Philadelphia earlier this week when the Nick Castellanos signing became official. After six seasons in the Phils’ farm system and a brief stint in the Australian Baseball League, Williams made his MLB debut in 2021, appearing in 58 games. While Williams hit only .245/.315/.316 in 108 plate appearances, he made a mark with his versatility, making multiple appearances at every position except catcher and pitcher.

Williams began his career as a third baseman, but has more recently moved all over the diamond, with the bulk of his brief big league career spent as an outfielder. Giants manager Gabe Kapler is surely familiar with Williams from Kapler’s past job as the Phillies’ skipper, and San Francisco has frequently sought out multi-positional players in recent years. Williams is also a right-handed hitter, which could give him an opportunity for playing time given how the Giants’ projected starting outfield (Mike Yastrzemski, LaMonte Wade Jr., and Joc Pederson) are all left-handed bats.

Toffey has something of a similar resume to Williams, as Toffey is also a third baseman who has started to branch out at other positions. The 2021 season saw Toffey play both corner outfield positions, first base, and second base while playing with the Mets’ Double-A affiliate and the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate. San Francisco acquired the 27-year-old Toffey from the Mets last July, with left-hander Anthony Banda going back to New York in return.

Boyd signed a one-year deal with the Giants last week, and the former Tigers lefty is set to earn $5.2MM in guaranteed money in 2022. First, however, Boyd will have to fully recover from flexor tendon surgery last September. The 60-day IL placement was expected, as Boyd wasn’t expected to be ready until early June.

Giants To Sign Matthew Boyd

By Steve Adams | March 20, 2022 at 11:30am CDT

March 20: John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle provides the details on the incentives. Boyd will earn an extra $400K for reaching 12, 14 and 16 starts, $500K for 18 starts and $600K for 20 starts.

March 17: The Giants have agreed to a one-year deal with free-agent lefty Matthew Boyd, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. The longtime Tigers hurler will be guaranteed $5.2MM on the contract and can earn an additional $2.3MM via incentives. Boyd is represented by the Boras Corporation.

Boyd, who turned 31 last month, underwent season-ending surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon last September and said in February that he’s targeting an early-June return to a big league mound. He’ll be sidelined for at least the first two months of the season, then, but will give San Francisco a potential midseason boost in the rotation.

At various points in his career, Boyd has shown flashes of brilliance and looked to be on the cusp of breaking out as an upper-echelon starter. He carried a 3.44 ERA through early June last season before an injury knocked him out of a June 14 start. He was sidelined two months, returned to throw eight ineffective innings, and underwent surgery shortly thereafter. The Tigers, knowing he’d miss a significant portion of the 2022 season, opted to non-tender him back in November rather than pay him a final raise in arbitration. The combined $5.2MM base and $2.3MM of incentives on this new contract give Boyd the opportunity to earn roughly the same amount as the $7.3MM at which MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had projected his 2022 arbitration salary ($7.3MM).

Last year wasn’t the only intriguing and promising stretch of his career, though. In 2019, Boyd had a 3.08 ERA and 2.98 FIP with elite strikeout and walk rates through mid-June, prompting him to be regarded as one of the most sought-after trade candidates on the market that season. He was sitting on a 3.94 ERA, a 3.26 SIERA, a 32.5% strikeout rate and 5.3% walk rate by the time the trade deadline rolled around, but he ultimately remained in Detroit.

Boyd’s ability to miss bats and limit walks has continually intrigued teams, but there tend to be other red flags that offset those promising trends. In 2019, when he ranked ninth in the Majors in strikeout percentage and eighth in K-BB%, he also served up an untenable 1.89 HR/9. This past season, when he tamped down that grisly home run rate all the way to 1.03 HR/9, it came with a huge dip in his strikeout rate.

If the Giants are able to get Boyd’s strikeout, walk and home-run prevention rates all working in sync for the first time in his career, there’s obvious potential for him to finally take that next step. San Francisco has developed a reputation as a club that thrives on coaxing breakouts from talented pitchers in need of a scenery change, and it certainly can’t hurt Boyd to be moving to the spacious Oracle Park (although Detroit’s Comerica Park is hardly a bandbox itself).

The Giants are heading into the season with a starting rotation of Logan Webb, Carlos Rodon, Anthony DeSclafani, Alex Wood and Alex Cobb — a talented and experienced mix that has potential to be one of the game’s more effective quintets. However, Rodon, Wood, Cobb and (to a lesser extent) DeSclafani all have checkered track records of health, so stockpiling depth to support that group is imperative. President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, GM Scott Harris and the rest of the front office have begun to do just that in recent days, signing not only Boyd but also former Royals righty Jakob Junis (one year, $1.75MM) and former Cardinals ace Carlos Martinez (minor league deal, $2.5MM base in the Majors).

AL Central Notes: Twins, IKF, Tigers, Anderson, Boyd, White Sox

By Mark Polishuk | March 12, 2022 at 5:44pm CDT

The Twins and Rangers combined on one of the most interesting early moves of the post-lockout period, agreeing to a trade earlier today that will see Isiah Kiner-Falefa and pitching prospect Ronny Henriquez head to Minnesota, while catcher Mitch Garver was dealt to Texas. Speaking with reporters (including MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park) about the deal, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said the Twins were first in touch about Kiner-Falefa before the lockout, and Garver wasn’t initially part of trade talks until it became that such a notable price was necessary to pry Kiner-Falefa away from the Rangers.

While the presence of Ryan Jeffers ultimately made Garver expendable, Minnesota now has a new everyday shortstop, and a player who has generally looked like one of the league’s better defensive players no matter where Texas lined him up on the diamond. Kiner-Falefa said he is happy to be getting an opportunity to start at what he considers his natural position of shortstop, and his addition means that the Twins can now keep Jorge Polanco at second base.

Matthew Boyd Targeting Early June Return From Flexor Surgery

By Steve Adams | February 7, 2022 at 11:12am CDT

Free-agent lefty Matthew Boyd, who underwent flexor tendon surgery late last September, tells Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press that he’s progressing nicely through his rehab program and is aiming for an early June return to a big league mound. Boyd recently began throwing from 75 feet, and he expects to begin throwing full bullpen sessions in the final weeks of March.

The 2021 season was shaping up to be a strong one for the 31-year-old Boyd, who started 15 games for Detroit and worked to a 3.89 ERA through 78 2/3 innings. Boyd switched his pitch selection up slightly, leaning on his changeup at a career-high rate while dropping his fastball usage to its lowest levels since 2018. The results were generally favorable, even as his strikeout rate dipped to 19.9% — its lowest mark since 2017. Despite the limited number of innings thrown, Boyd’s 285 changeups last year were the second-most he’s ever thrown in a big league season; opponents struggle, hitting just .247/.275/.351 with one homer in 80 plate appearances that ended with a Boyd changeup.

Boyd has, at various points in his career, shown flashes of brilliance and looked to be on the cusp of a breakout. He carried a 3.44 ERA through 13 starts last year before exiting his June 14 start after 2 1/3 innings and heading to the injured list. He returned for a brief spell in late August/early September but lasted just eight innings combined between two starts, yielding seven runs in that time. He underwent surgery later that month, and the Tigers non-tendered him rather than him one final arbitration raise (which MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had pegged at $7.3MM).

In 2019, Boyd had a 3.08 ERA and 2.98 FIP with elite strikeout and walk rates through mid-June, prompting him to be regarded as one of the most sought-after trade candidates on the market that season. He was sitting on a 3.94 ERA, a 3.26 SIERA, a 32.5% strikeout rate and 5.3% walk rate by the time the trade deadline rolled around, but he ultimately remained in Detroit.

Throughout his career, Boyd has at times demonstrated tantalizing skills, but he’s never pieced them all together in the same season. He ranked ninth in the Majors in strikeout rate and eighth in K-BB% back in 2019, for instance, but also served up home runs at a rate of 1.89 per nine frames. This past season, he held the long ball in check (1.03 HR/9) with excellent command but saw his strikeout rate dip. Given Boyd’s 4.96 ERA in 784 1/3 innings, many are perplexed by the repeated level of intrigue surrounding the southpaw, but there’s a general belief that his raw abilities point to another gear he simply has not yet reached for a sustained period.

Boyd, like other Major League free agents, isn’t able to sign right now with the lockout ongoing. Whenever the transaction freeze lifts, however, he’ll represent an appealing gamble — likely on a short-term deal — for a team that’s OK with waiting until the summer to see how his rehab has panned out. Petzold writes that Boyd and agent Scott Boras received interest from teams on both coasts and, a bit more specifically, from one of of Boyd’s former AL Central rivals.

Speculatively speaking, the Twins have the most glaring need for pitching within the division, although the dire nature of that need is enough to wonder whether they’d allocate resources to a pitcher who, at best, could only help for two-thirds of the season. The Royals would seem another sensible fit from the AL Central; they have plenty of young, in-house options to help bridge the gap to Boyd’s return, and he could in turn allow the team to manage the workloads of those young arms once he’s healthy.

Wherever Boyd lands, he’ll be hoping that a change of scenery brings about a prolonged stretch of the sporadic excellence that has punctuated his inconsistent career. If he’s able to pitch well this summer on a one-year deal, he could re-enter the market next winter in a much better position as he heads into his age-32 season. Alternatively, if Boyd and Boras prefer a more risk-averse approach, it’s relatively common for teams to give rehabbing pitchers of this nature a somewhat backloaded two-year contract. That’d provide Boyd with more up-front earning power but could potentially cost him money if he comes out of the gate throwing well whenever he does return.

Tigers Non-Tender Matthew Boyd

By Steve Adams | November 30, 2021 at 7:11pm CDT

The Tigers announced Tuesday that they will not tender a contract to left-hander Matthew Boyd, immediately making him a free agent. Boyd, 30, pitched just eight innings after June 14 this season due to a pair of forearm injuries, ultimately leading to flexor tendon surgery in late September. He’d been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $7.3MM in what would have been his final season of arbitration eligibility.

A specific timeline for Boyd’s return to the mound was never provided, with the team stating only it was “hopeful” he’d be able to pitch at some point in the 2022 season. Tigers GM Al Avila briefly discussed Boyd in his end-of-year press conference and acknowledged that a non-tender was a possibility. At the very least, it’s reasonable to expect Boyd to miss a notable portion of the 2022 campaign; were the Tigers expecting him to be ready early in the season, they’d surely have tendered him a contract, given his track record and lengthy tenure with the club.

The 2020 season was brutal for Boyd, who was knocked around for a 6.71 ERA, but he’s otherwise been a solid starter in Detroit — at times looking like an intriguing mid-rotation option. Boyd has shown the ability to miss bats in droves in the past, though he traded some punchouts for efficiency in 2021 when he attacked the strike zone at a career-best rate and accordingly dropped his walk rate to 6.8% — the second best mark of his career.

Even with that woeful 2020 showing, Boyd carries a 4.66 ERA, a 24.9% strikeout rate and a 6.9% walk rate over his past 494 2/3 innings at the MLB level. He’s often been homer-prone in the past, but Boyd has also gone through stretches where he looks on the cusp of taking his game to a new level. He pitched to a 3.44 ERA and 3.75 FIP through 13 starts this past season before landing on the injured list, for instance, and Boyd looked dominant for a good chunk of the 2019 season as well before a dismal second-half swoon. Whenever he’s healthy, Boyd will surely be viewed by teams around the league as an upside play who, with a few tweaks, could potentially sustain some of those flashes of success he’s shown in the past.

For the time being, with the looming lockout and uncertainty surrounding Boyd’s arm, it’s likely he’ll remain a free agent until the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement and instead field offers from other clubs once the forthcoming transaction freeze is lifted.

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