The Cubs might be the hottest team in baseball — with seven straight wins overall and 13 in a row at Wrigley Field — but Wednesday turned sour before a game against the Reds with the news that another key pitcher, starter Matthew Boyd, is injured.
Boyd has a “meniscus issue” in his left knee and likely will need surgery, manager Craig Counsell said.
According to Counsell, the Cubs’ Opening Day starter got hurt in one of the more innocent, extremely unlucky ways imaginable: as he was “going down to the ground and getting back up” while playing with his kids at home.
“He woke up this morning a healthy player,” Counsell said. “But this is what happens. So he’s just trying to kind of process it and get all the information from the doctors and figure out what’s next.”
The 35-year-old lefty, who was an All-Star last season and the Cubs’ Game 1 starter in the wild-card series against the Padres, had an MRI on Wednesday and is bound for a “more than the minimum” stay on the injured list, Counsell said. Asked if it could be months before Boyd is able to return, Counsell said speculation would have to wait until “after the surgery,” certainly making it sound as though Boyd will go under the knife.
Boyd was scheduled to pitch Friday against the Rangers in the first game of a nine-game road trip that also will include visits to the Braves and the White Sox. Does this mean current bullpen arm Javier Assad, who has 57 career starts, all with the Cubs, is headed to the rotation? Counsell kicked that can down the road until Thursday.
The Cubs now have sent eight pitchers to the injured list since the start of the season. The loss of Boyd is a considerable blow to a team that already has pushed back the timeline of starter Justin Steele, who last pitched in April 2025 and might not again until the second half of this season, and likely won’t have starter Cade Horton back from Tommy John surgery until midway through next season at best.
“Obviously, it’s unexpected news and we’re going to have to fill around [Boyd], for sure,” Counsell said. “But that’s going to be our task. …
“This is an opportunity for somebody, and through those opportunities, good things can happen. That’s how you have to see it.”
Right-handed reliever Trent Thornton was called up from Triple-A Iowa to take Boyd’s spot on the roster. In an unrelated move, pitcher Charlie Barnes was designated for assignment.
Boyd, who spent time on the IL this season with a strained bicep, is 2-1 with a 6.00 ERA in five starts this season.