The veteran southpaw is set to return to the rotation ahead of schedule after recovering from knee surgery, providing a crucial boost for a pitching staff seeking stability and consistency.
The Chicago Cubs will be getting back a key rotation arm this week.
Veteran left-hander Matthew Boyd has missed the last month due to a meniscus injury that he suffered at his home. He eventually was placed on the 15-day injured list on May 6 and underwent a partial tear of his meniscus on May 7.
Boyd was given a rough six-week recovery timeline following his surgery last month. All signs now point to him being activated off the IL one week earlier than that estimated timeline, as he should return to the Cubs' rotation later this week.
The plan was always for Boyd to make only two rehab assignment starts before being activated. With the southpaw completing both of those rehab starts in each of the past two weeks, his next stop will be with the big league club.
The veteran allowed three runs (two earned runs) with two strikeouts across four innings in his first rehab start on May 31 and gave up five earned runs with five strikeouts across five innings in his final rehab outing on June 6.
Although Boyd gave up eight runs (seven earned runs) in his nine innings of work, the Cubs weren't really worried about his results in these two rehab starts. They only cared about his health after each outing, and his pitch count being built up.
Boyd threw 80 pitches in his last rehab start on Saturday, which means that he should be all systems go when he re-enters the rotation. The expectation is that he will slot in the Cubs’ rotation sometime in the weekend series against the Giants (either on Friday or Saturday).
It has been an injury-riddled campaign so far for Boyd. He missed three weeks due to a bicep strain in early/mid-April and has been on the shelf since May 6 due to a meniscus injury.
However, getting back the 2025 All-Star is big news for the Cubs. Boyd was one of the team's best starters a season ago, finishing with a 3.21 ERA and 154 strikeouts across 179 ⅔ innings pitched. He really put the rotation on his back throughout the year.
While he hasn’t been that same pitcher to start the 2026 season, the 12-year veteran was starting to get into a groove on the mound before his meniscus injury. Boyd threw six innings of two-run ball with five strikeouts against the Diamondbacks back on May 3.
With Jameson Taillon set to go on the injured list following his early departure in Sunday's start, Boyd will almost certainly take his spot in the rotation.
