MESA, Ariz. – New Cub Matt Boyd and pitching coach Tommy Hottovy gestured back and forth, mimicking pieces of throwing motions before the veteran lefty’s bullpen session Wednesday.
Boyd threw twice off the mound and then turned back to Hottovy, picking up the conversation again.
“He’s going to be a lot of fun for me to work with because he likes to verbalize everything,” Hottovy said this week. “And so for me and [assistant pitching coach Casey Jacobson] right now, it’s a lot of getting to know him and how he thinks about things.”
Boyd was the Cubs’ biggest addition to the rotation this winter, inking a two-year contract worth $29 million guaranteed. He’s poised to slot into the middle of a rotation highlighted by two other lefties, Justin Steele and Shota Imanaga. Jameson Taillon will provide a right-handed look, with a robust competition at the back end of the rotation.
Boyd arrived at the Cubs’ spring training complex a week early to start getting acquainted with the facilities, his new teammates and the coaching staff.
“Everyone here is so amazing, so kind,” he said. “It’s really special.”
Boyd is coming off a wildly successful return from Tommy John surgery. He became an integral part of the Guardians’ strong finish to last season and subsequent playoff run.
“The first thing is health,” Boyd said.
He hadn’t felt completely healthy in years. He pitched through a flexor tendon injury in 2021, landing on the injured list twice that season and eventually undergoing surgery. Then in 2023 he had what he described as a “flare up” in spring training. And after Boyd battled through 15 starts, testing showed his ulnar collateral ligament was compromised.
“In the previous years … 70% of me would be on the mound, 30% would be worrying about how I feel,” Boyd said. “When I got out there last year, it’s like, ‘Oh, man, I feel good. Now, let’s go compete.’”
The results reflected that clear mindset right away. In Boyd’s first game back, he held the Cubs to one run and three hits through 5 ⅓ innings. He posted a 2.27 ERA in eight starts.
“When you come back, there’s some things that are rusty, there’s things that take time to develop,” he said. “Maybe you have pictures behind, or one day it’s not there. … There were plenty of starts last year where I didn’t feel like I was my elite self, but I just went out and competed. And it was cool because it shows you can get outs with whatever you have that day.”
Boyd was even better in the playoffs.
He blanked the Tigers in two AL Division Series starts, and he held the Yankees to one run in five innings in Game 3 of the ALCS.
“The hardest year of Tommy John is the first year after Tommy John,” Hottovy said. “Then you have a complete offseason, you actually can let your body kind of calm down and heal. So, right now, he’s in a really good place.”
Despite Boyd’s injury history, the Cubs aren’t putting any limitations on his innings prematurely. Hottovy emphasized that while Boyd may not have made many starts last year, his rehab back from surgery added significant workload.
During Boyd’s bullpen Wednesday, manager Craig Counsell just stood off to the side, as Hottovy bounced between Boyd and the surrounding coaches, merging what the pitcher was feeling with what they were seeing.
“I think coaches really enjoy that part of it, and learning new people that are good at what they do and have had success,” Counsell said. “It’s a fun part of getting to know these guys.”