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Can Cubs Pitcher Matthew Boyd Go The Distance?

Originally posted on Chicago Cubs on SI | By Nick Ziegler | Last updated Aug 12, 2025 7:00 PM ET

As the Chicago Cubs begin a massive series against the Toronto Blue Jays, the team is starting to fall behind in the National League Central.

Even though the Cubs are still in a comfortable position in the NL Wild Card picture, they haven’t played great, and that has come at a poor time with the Milwaukee Brewers being the hottest team in baseball right now.

To start the season, Chicago was able to establish themselves as one of the best offenses in all of baseball. However, the unit overall has struggled quite a bit of late, and their two All-Star outfielders have been right in the middle of those struggles.

Fortunately, the great start to the year has given them some breathing room, but the Cubs do need to get rolling sooner rather than later. One reason to be optimistic heading down the stretch is that they will be getting some pitchers back to help the rotation. This is a unit that has been highly criticized this campaign, but they have had one pitcher in particular who has been a star.

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Tristan Cockcroft of ESPN recently wrote about what the second half of the season might look like for Cubs All-Star starter Matthew Boyd.

“It remains to be seen how Boyd will hold up, considering he didn't exceed 88 professional innings in any of the previous five seasons, though he hasn't shown any signs of slowing down. Nevertheless, the Cubs are considering moving to a six-man rotation once Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad return, helping lighten the load on Boyd.”

Boyd has certainly been one of the top performers for Chicago this season and was a fantastic bargain signing for them this past winter. The Cubs likely didn’t think that they would be getting this type of production from him when they signed him, and he has arguably been their best pitcher.

Can Boyd Make it Through the Year?

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So far this campaign, he has totaled an 11-5 record and 2.45 ERA in 23 starts. If the playoffs started today, it very well could be Boyd who would be the Game 1 starter for Chicago.

While it has been a fantastic season, there is reason to be concerned about the number of innings he has pitched. The southpaw hasn’t reached 100 innings since 2019 and is currently sitting at 135.2 this year.

The Cubs have Javier Assad rejoining the team and starting tonight, and going to a six-man rotation could make a lot of sense to try to preserve Boyd down the stretch.

Even though the innings might be a concern, Chicago should be ecstatic about the season that the southpaw has been able to put together so far.

This article first appeared on Chicago Cubs on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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