Latest Matthew Boyd injury update could not come soon enough for the Cubs

I mean, even as a diehard Chicago Cubs fan, you can't be mad at Matthew Boyd over the freak knee injury that required surgery and will keep him out until late June. The guy was playing with his kids, felt a pair of pops and the rest is history.

Now, that doesn't mean we can't all be frustrated that it was just the latest in a never-ending stream of Cubs pitching injuries this season. With Cade Horton sidelined for all of 2026 and a good chunk of 2027 and Justin Steele's return pushed back to the second half after experiencing a setback in his recovery from elbow surgery, the team needs Boyd back in the mix.

The rotation has been roughly league average, despite the losses, ranking 14th in starter ERA heading into Tuesday night's game against the Brewers. Shota Imanaga has largely been brilliant, although Milwaukee torched him for eight earned runs in the series opener, raising his earned run average to 3.38 on the year.

Inconsistency has been the name of the game for the Cubs' pitching

Ben Brown has been a recent bright spot after being forced into the starting picture as the replacement for Boyd and the hope is he's finally poised to live up to the potential we've heard about for years. Edward Cabrera has left much to be desired, more or less treading water so far in a Cubs uniform, and Jameson Taillon is coughing up homers at a historic rate as he looks to reinvent himself yet again, with his four-seamer averaging a career-low 91.7 MPH on the year.

Cubs need

All that to say, the Cubs can ill afford any setbacks in Boyd's recovery. The good news is, so far, there has been nothing but encouraging signs, with the left-hander poised to throw off a mound this weekend in Chicago.

“He’s doing everything a little bit more effortlessly and pain free than was expected,” Counsell told reporters. “He’ll see the doctor at the end of the weekend here, and we’ll see what’s next. But I think he’s going to progress at a pretty good pace. So far, we’ve gotten all good news from him.”

Last year, Boyd was a revelation for the Cubs, earning the first All-Star selection of his career and posting a 3.21 ERA in 31 starts and 179 2/3 innings - his heaviest workload since 2019. He'd been inconsistent so far in 2026, so a return to form would go a long way toward solidifying the team's pitching heading deeper into the summer.

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