On June 27, it was reported that the Cleveland Guardians were signing an old foe.
Matthew Boyd, a left-handed starter who spent the majority of his career with the Detroit Tigers, is now a part of the Guardians organization after signing a one-year MLB deal.
Boyd is currently rehabbing from Tommy John surgery performed in late June last year.
He is almost 13 months removed from the procedure and has been cleared to make rehab starts at this point, which is excellent news for a Guardians rotation that needs depth and quality.
When he is on, Boyd can be a solid contributor as a backend starter, and the Guards certainly need depth.
The southpaw completed three solid innings of work on Tuesday and appears to be on the right track.
“Matt Boyd made his first rehab appearance tonight in the ACL tonight. 3 innings, 3 hits, unearned run and 7K. Shawn Rapp also made a rehab appearance. IP BB/K,” Guardians reporter @JL_baseball tweeted.
Matt Boyd made his first rehab appearance tonight in the ACL tonight.
3 innings, 3 hits, unearned run and 7K
Shawn Rapp also made a rehab appearance. IP BB/K.
— Justin L. (@JL_Baseball) July 17, 2024
Boyd, who has been a major leaguer since 2015, has a career 4.94 ERA.
His strikeout ceiling, however, is quite high and the Guardians organization and excellent coaching can work wonders with him.
In 2019, for example, he struck out 238 hitters.
He has always been injury-prone, too, and ultimately decided to undergo Tommy John surgery last year.
He was fantastic in his debut in the Arizona Complex League and should be able to keep increasing his pitch count and opposition difficulty in the upcoming weeks.
Boyd is definitely an option for Cleveland at some point in the second half, when they deem him ready to face and retire major league hitters.
NEXT: 3 Guardians Made Huge Contributions To The American League In All-Star Victory
