Cubs choose to play it safe with their Opening Day starter announcement

Matthew Boyd has been named the Chicago Cubs' Opening Day starter.

The announcement shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone given the left-hander's breakout 2025 campaign, in which he led the team in innings pitched, notched an All-Star selection and worked to a 3.21 ERA in 31 starts. He was a calming presence atop a rotation that weathered multiple lengthy IL stints - and went virtually all season without left-hander Justin Steele.

Boyd, 35, proved to be worth what, at the time, felt like a fairly risky investment by Jed Hoyer and the front office. Signed to a two-year, $29 million deal with a mutual option for 2027, the left-hander finally put it all together for a full season, delivering impressive results before he started to wear down toward the end of the year.

Now, he'll get the chance to start Opening Day - against a Washington Nationals team that proved woefully inept against left-handed pitching last year, hopefully setting the stage for a season-opening victory.

It now makes more sense why Boyd departed Team USA ahead of this weekend's quarterfinals matchup against Canada - he's got a hard date circled on the calendar for his first start and will want to make sure he's dialed in well in advance. Boyd has been very open about his excitement for the 2026 season, which he hopes culminates in an even deeper October run on the heels of the Cubs' first playoff wins in the better part of a decade.

"Without a doubt. It's something that, you know … It was a great year, we didn't get to where we wanted to, but you know it's something that once you get to play in postseason baseball, you just can't get enough of," he said.

There was only one other Opening Day alternative to Matthew Boyd

Had the Cubs wanted to be really bold and signal a passing of the torch to the next generation, Counsell could have gone with hard-throwing right-hander Cade Horton. The former first-round pick finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting last fall after a historic second-half run reminiscient of peak Jake Arrieta.

But, coming off a career-high workload (including not only pro ball, but college), the Cubs opted to go with Boyd over Horton, who will still play a wildly important role for this team in 2026. If all goes well, Horton will have many Opening Day starts in his future - but this time around, it instead goes to Boyd - a well-deserved honor for not only one of the team's best pitchers a year ago, but a humble and kind person.