Chicago Cubs: Six potential starting pitching trade targets

Chicago Cubs: Matthew Boyd

The Chicago Cubs already made one great trade with the Detroit Tigers this year, as they brought in Nicholas Castellanos at the trade deadline. Could another trade with the Tigers be in the works this offseason, this time for southpaw Matthew Boyd?

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The Tigers are in the middle of a long, painful rebuild, and even though Boyd is under team control through 2023, you’d have to believe that the soon-to-be 29-year-old would be available, along with anyone else at the major league level who could bring back any level of young talent in return. Boyd would be an affordable and controllable option for the rotation, though he does come with some question marks.

Boyd was on his way to a career year in 2019; at the end of July, his ERA was 3.94 while he was proving to be a reliable arm for the rotation. However, in nine starts after July, his ERA was 6.11.

The Tigers are probably kicking themselves for not dealing him at the deadline, as now there’s a question as to how much they could get for him in a trade.

There were some good signs from Boyd overall in 2019. For example, his strikeouts per nine innings rate was by far a career high at 11.6. He also has improved his walks per nine innings rate each of the past three years. However, the long ball has been a problem, as he led the league in home runs allowed in 2019 with 39. If the Cubs are desperate to trade for a #4-type starter, perhaps they’ll give the Tigers a call on Boyd.