Cubs put Opening Day starter Matthew Boyd on 15-day injured list with left bicep strain

TAMPA, Fla. — The Cubs’ pitching depth is being tested early.

After placing promising starter Cade Horton on the 15-day IL with a right forearm strain, the club put Opening Day starter Matthew Boyd on the 15-day IL with a left bicep strain. The Cubs recalled Javier Assad from Triple-A Iowa and he will start Tuesday’s game against the Rays.

Boyd said he’s felt it in his starts but that the injury hasn’t prevented him from pitching the way he wants. His fastball velocity isn’t noticeably down, and he’s coming off a 10-strikeout performance against the Angels on Wednesday.

“We think we can put this behind him and not have to worry about it, instead of kind of worrying about start to start,” manager Craig Counsell said.

Counsell said he expects Boyd to have a minimum stay on the IL and make his return during the Mets series. Boyd said if this was a different part of the season, then he would have pitched through the injury. He said he doesn’t feel any pain, but that it’s tougher for him to bounce-back after starts.

Boyd won’t undergo any imaging or go see a doctor. He’s going to keep his pitching routine while on the IL, but the team felt it was best for Boyd to miss a couple starts and resolve the injury.

“The last thing you want to do is compound, and then you’re behind the 8-ball,” Boyd said before Monday’s game against the Rays.

The competitor in Boyd is furious that he’s not taking the ball every fifth day. Especially because he’s not dealing with pain, just lingering soreness. In the span of four days, the Cubs have lost two key members of their rotation.

Horton is a very promising young player, who has the potential to be the ace of the staff one day. Boyd’s surprise All-Star campaign was partly why the Cubs found themselves in the NLDS. The Cubs were proud of their pitching depth at spring training. They don’t have the frontline talent like other contenders, but they figured to have enough pitching to get through the season and avoid the fatigue that plagued starters in last year’s playoffs.