ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Less than two weeks into the season, the Chicago Cubs’ starting pitching depth already is being tested.
The Cubs placed left-hander Matthew Boyd on the 15-day injured list with a biceps strain Monday before their series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays. Right-hander Javier Assad was recalled from Triple-A Iowa and will start Tuesday in place of Boyd. The IL move is retroactive to Friday, making April 18 the earliest Boyd could rejoin the rotation.
Boyd and manager Craig Counsell described the injury as minor and expect the veteran to be sidelined for the minimum time. The issue didn’t bother Boyd during his two starts this season, but he was taking longer to bounce back afterward. He felt good throwing his bullpen Sunday and even better Monday, but the Cubs decided not to risk pushing through it this early in the season.
“Frankly, given a different time of the season, I’d take the ball and keep going,” Boyd said. “Just felt it was best to think long term on this and buy a little extra time and be ready for when I come off it.
“I’m constantly aware of what I’m feeling, and when something was taking just a little bit longer — it’s not something that’s stagnant. It’s been feeling better every day, especially when we pushed it (Sunday).”
The Cubs needed quality innings from right-hander Jameson Taillon in Monday’s opener against the Tampa Bay Rays. It was the first game played at Tropicana Field since 2024, due to Hurricane Milton ripping the roof off the stadium 18 months ago. Taillon navigated a three-run second to get through six innings, but the Cubs’ offense couldn’t get much going against the Rays, managing only four hits in a 6-4 loss.
The Rays’ damage against Taillon largely came from two home runs in the veteran’s quality start (four runs, three earned). He knows he must step up in the absence of Boyd and right-hander Cade Horton.
“You really want to just make starts with your boys and post up and have a tight crew of starters, but you always know in the back of your mind that you’re going to need everybody,” Taillon said after the loss. “I think we all felt some confidence in our group, but it’s unfortunate that we have to test it this early.
“I enjoy showing up to the park and feeling like you can be a good teammate by executing pitches and going deeper in a game. A lot of baseball was played over the weekend, so it felt good to at least help in that way. Even though we lost hopefully that sets up our ’pen for the days going forward.”
There was a potential path to skipping Boyd’s start Tuesday and avoiding the IL. But Sunday’s unexpected doubleheader in Cleveland and a quick turnaround to Monday’s afternoon game against the Rays — combined with already losing multi-inning bullpen depth with Colin Rea expected to get a bulk of Wednesday’s innings in place of the injured Horton — complicated that option.
“You never want to compound things, so when there’s an opportunity to buy a little time, you want to be more cautious, especially while the calendar is still in April,” Boyd said. “And that’s what was portrayed to me as this is trying to do what’s best for everything. But, yeah, I’m optimistic of coming out of this normal.
“Hopefully it’s just one of those things that you look back on when you’re in August and you’re like, OK, you’re a start behind in the overall total and it was good that we took a break, took a breather, instead of risking it.”
Counsell called it a next-man-up situation and a chance for Assad to make a couple of big-league starts.
“It was just about where we’re trending,” Counsell said. “This is the best thing to do for Matt and for us to win as many games as we can this year.”
The injury won’t require Boyd to get imaging on his biceps, and he isn’t expected to stop throwing while he’s on the IL.
Boyd, 35, bounced back from a rough opening-day start to toss 5 2/3 innings Wednesday, holding the Los Angeles Angels to two runs (one earned) on two hits while striking out 10 and not walking a batter.
Fortunately, it’s not an acute injury that Boyd sustained on a pitch. He believes the cold weather and having an inning in which he was on the bench for an extended stretch might have contributed to the lingering soreness.
“It is frustrating. I want to be out there (Tuesday),” Boyd said. “The fact of the matter is I don’t want to sit in here and not pitch. I want the ball in my hand to help the team win. But sometimes doing what’s best for the team is thinking more of that long term.
“Every win matters, right? And every win counts the same when it comes down to it. Collectively it’s our goal to get the best results as we can over the 162 (games) to prepare ourselves for October. That’s the main goal, and it takes more than the 26-man roster. It takes more sometimes than the 40-man roster. That’s just how baseball is, and we’ve got a good group to do that.”
