The veteran southpaw is nearing a swift recovery from knee surgery, potentially displacing struggling starters and providing a much-needed veteran boost to Chicago’s rotation by mid-June.
The Chicago Cubs will be welcoming back one of their starting pitchers very soon.
Veteran left-hander Matthew Boyd continues to progress nicely from a meniscus injury. The 35-year-old was placed on the 15-day injured list back on May 6 after injuring his knee while playing with his kids at his home.
Boyd was initially given a six-week recovery timeline after his surgery on May 7, but he should return well before then. It’s looking like he will be back pitching for the Cubs within the next 10-14 days.
Chicago sent Boyd on a rehab assignment on Sunday, marking his first outing back from his meniscus surgery. He allowed three runs (two earned runs) with one walk and two strikeouts across four innings pitched.
It wasn’t necessarily an efficient outing for Boyd in his first rehab assignment start. He allowed multiple runs and only punched out two batters. However, he came out of this game fully healthy, which is all the Cubs care about at this point.
The expectation is that Boyd will make one more start at Triple-A before being activated off the IL sometime later next week. Although he could easily just slot into the rotation after this rehab start, he’s not quite built up yet. The southpaw only threw 63 pitches in Sunday’s outing.
When Boyd is healthy enough to return, he could replace Jordan Wicks in the rotation. It’s a move that can’t come quicker for the North Siders.
Wicks has struggled in his first two starts with the Cubs. He allowed eight runs on nine hits across 4 ⅓ innings against the Pirates last Tuesday and then gave up three runs on four hits across two innings against the Cardinals in his most recent outing.
There’s also a chance that Edward Cabrera takes Wicks’ spot later this week, considering the right-hander is first eligible to come off the IL on June 5. That would mean Boyd would have to replace another starter in the rotation.
Given the way Ben Brown has pitched recently, his spot in the rotation appears to be safe. He has an impressive 1.73 ERA and 29 strikeouts in five starts. The Cubs probably wouldn’t move Shota Imanaga or Jameson Taillon to the bullpen, either.
That leaves Colin Rea as the possible starter who will likely be demoted to the bullpen once Cabrera and Boyd are both back. Rea has a 5.14 ERA in his last eight starts and has experience in that long relief role in the past.
The Cubs are slowly but surely getting healthier. Boyd and Cabrera should both be back within the next two weeks and will no doubt boost this struggling Cubs rotation. Both of those pitchers are upgrades over Wicks and Rea.
Boyd should make his final rehab assignment start later this week. After that, he will likely be activated off the 15-day IL sometime during the week of June 8.
