ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Chicago Cubs starter Matthew Boyd is headed to the 15-day injured list with a left biceps strain. He is the second starter to be shelved for the Cubs in the last four days — joining Cade Horton (right forearm strain) — as their rotation depth is being tested early in the season.
While the extent of Horton’s injury remains cloudy, Boyd’s is being labeled as minor. The IL stint is retroactive to April 3.
“There’s no pain right now,” Boyd said. “Frankly, given a different time of the season, we’d just take the ball and keep going.”
Manager Craig Counsell said Boyd had been feeling the issue for a little while now. Boyd said there wasn’t any acute pain and referred to it as “lingering soreness” after his starts. As the rest of his body recovered, the soreness in the biceps wasn’t going away in a timely manner.
“This is a minor issue,” Counsell said. “Just Matthew’s trend over the first couple starts for us was concerning. We think we can put this behind him and not have to worry about it, instead of kind of worrying about start to start how you’re feeling.”
Boyd threw his side session on Sunday and came out of it feeling healthy. He said he felt good on Monday as well. But the Cubs are thinking long term with this decision and don’t want to push it and cause further problems.
The bullpen is taxed after Horton left his start with forearm pain in the second inning on Friday and the team played a doubleheader on Sunday. So it wasn’t a viable option for the Cubs to give Boyd a few extra days to recover by utilizing a bullpen game on Tuesday and pushing his start to the weekend.
“It is frustrating,” Boyd said. “I want to be out there tomorrow. I don’t want to sit here and not pitch. I want the ball and to help the team win. But sometimes doing what’s best for the team is thinking more long-term.”
While everyone remains optimistic that Boyd will return quickly, the Cubs are still awaiting word on Horton’s status. Horton returned to Chicago on Sunday and was expected to see doctors on Monday. An update is expected to come at some point this week.
Boyd, in the second year of a two-year deal with the Cubs, has a long history of injuries but is coming off an All-Star season. He has looked strong early in the season, with a one-inning hiccup on Opening Day leading to a 6.75 ERA in 9 1/3 innings. But he’s been missing bats at an impressive rate (45.9 percent strikeout rate) and was coming off a strong 5 2/3 innings on Wednesday at Wrigley Field.
“Hopefully it’s just one of those things that you look back on when you’re in August and say you’re a start behind, but overall it was good we took a breather,” Boyd said. “Instead of risking it. The last thing you want to do is compound (it) and then you’re behind the eight ball.”
Boyd is not expected to get imaging for the issue and will continue to throw while on the IL. Counsell reiterated that the expectation is for Boyd to return when he’s eligible to be activated, which would fall on April 18 against the New York Mets.
The Cubs recalled Javier Assad from Triple A to take Boyd’s spot in the rotation. He’s scheduled to start Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Rays. Assad has a 3.43 ERA in 331 big-league innings. Counsell wasn’t ready to announce Wednesday’s starter, but said Colin Rea, who came in for Horton when he exited on Friday, would be used in some capacity.
The Cubs built up their starting pitching depth in the offseason to guard against moments like this. But tapping into it so early in the season isn’t ideal. Jordan Wicks (left forearm inflammation and radial nerve irritation) is throwing in Arizona and remains weeks away from game action.
Top prospect Jaxon Wiggins is at Triple A and has tantalizing potential, but still has significant developmental hurdles to cross. Justin Steele is currently rehabbing from the elbow surgery he underwent last summer, throwing live BPs in Arizona. He’s eligible to come off the 60-day IL on May 24.
Other depth options are Ben Brown, currently in the bullpen, and veteran Vince Velasquez, who is not on the 40-man roster but is pitching at Triple-A Iowa. Veteran Kyle Wright is still not ready for game action after an injury-plagued 2025, but could be helpful later this summer.
“This is the best thing to do for Matt and for us to win as many games as we can this year,” Counsell said of Boyd’s IL placement. “It’s the next man up. Javy’s on turn and ready to go. It’ll be his chance to make a couple starts and we’ll go from there.”
