Cubs agree with left-hander Matthew Boyd on a 2-year, $29 million contract

Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune on Dec 2, 2024

Published in Baseball

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CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs entered the offseason knowing they wanted to address the rotation and, by extension, the pitching staff.

For a group that features young talent but not much experience because of injuries last year, bringing in experience and depth is a priority. The Cubs have taken their first step in that direction by agreeing to a two-year, $29 million contract with left-hander Matthew Boyd, sources confirmed to the Chicago Tribune.

Boyd, 33, isn’t without risk either.

He didn’t pitch until mid-August in his return from Tommy John surgery, though he threw well for the Cleveland Guardians, posting a 2.72 ERA in eight starts and carrying that into the postseason (0.77 ERA in three starts). Injuries have limited Boyd to 124 innings over the last three seasons.

Despite the durability concerns, Boyd helps raise the floor of a rotation that includes lefties Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga and right-hander Jameson Taillon.

The Cubs can’t go into 2025 expecting major innings from left-hander Jordan Wicks and right-handers Ben Brown and Hayden Wesneski, all of whom spent varying time on the injured list and combined for only 169 big-league innings in 2024.

Boyd is 46-69 in his career with a 4.85 ERA in 182 appearances (168 starts) over 10 seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners and Guardians.

His signing is a good initial move, though the Cubs still have a lot of work ahead to make the 2025 roster better than this year’s 83-79 version.

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