Matthew Boyd elevated his stock considerably with a strong start to the season and a heavier reliance on four-seamers and sliders, and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic recently took a look at whether the Tigers might be open to trading the 28-year-old lefty. While the rebuilding Detroit club likely isn’t in a position to wholly refuse offers on virtually anyone on the roster, the Tigers do have a preference if they’re to move Boyd, Rosenthal reports. Given the glut of young pitching in the upper minors, the team’s ideal trade package for Boyd would center around a controllable young hitter with substantial upside. The Tigers needn’t feel compelled to move Boyd either this summer or even in the 2019-20 offseason, as he’s still controlled for another three seasons, but his improvements thus far appear more legitimate than many early-season, small-sample success stories. It’s easy to imagine that he’s already more appealing to other clubs than he was a month ago, and even if the Tigers ultimately hang onto him, Boyd will surely be one of the most sought-after arms in the game this summer if he maintains his early output.
Here’s more from the American League Central…
- Right-hander Casey Mize, the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft, tossed a no-hitter in his Double-A debut following a midweek promotion, but the Tigers aren’t planning to accelerate his timeline to the Major Leagues based on that dominant effort, per Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. “[General manager Al Avila] has told me, ’Don’t even look at them,'” manager Ron Gardenhire tells McCosky of Mize and fellow top pitching prospects Matt Manning and Alex Faedo. “So, I am happy they’re doing well, but they are not in my thoughts.” Both Avila and assistant GM David Chadd were present to watch Mize’s one-walk, no-hitter live and will watch Faedo an Manning this week as well. However, McCosky notes that the pair isn’t getting live looks at those young arms with an eye toward a near-term promotion. Faedo has just 89 innings above A-ball, while Manning has just 39 1/3.
- The Indians left themselves little margin for error this past offseason and are now paying the price, writes Zack Meisel of The Athletic (subscription required). Cleveland pinned its hopes on a dominant rotation but is already down Mike Clevinger and Corey Kluber. While the former is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a teres major strain, he can’t be activated until June 7 given his placement on the 60-day injured list, and there’s no timeline yet for the latter. As far as in-house alternatives, Adam Plutko is still working his way back from a forearm issue, leaving Jefry Rodriguez as the de facto fourth starter and a collection of question marks behind him in the fifth slot. Chih-Wei Hu and non-roster journeyman Asher Wojciechowski are perhaps the likeliest fifth options for an Indians club that currently faces a three-game deficit in the division.
- Although Tommy John surgery is “on the table” as an option for injured White Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon, his health won’t impact top prospect Dylan Cease’s timeline to the big leagues, general manager Rick Hahn told reporters Thursday (link via LaMond Pope of the Chicago Tribune). “[N]o one is going to be promoted to Chicago simply because there’s a need in Chicago,” said Hahn, stressing that Cease or any other prospect will only be promoted when the player’s development dictates a promotion. “(Cease’s) timeline is not in any way affected by anything that happens with Carlos. It’s only going to be affected by what happens with (Cease).” The 23-year-old Cease, who entered the year as a consensus Top 50 prospect in the game, has done a good job making an early case for a big league debut. Through 24 1/3 innings at Triple-A, he’s pitched to a 3.33 ERA with a 30-to-7 K/BB ratio and a 55.1 percent ground-ball rate.
2021 tigers will have the best rotation in the majors
Verlander, Whitley (Top 10 prospect), McCullers, Corbin Martin (Top 100 prospect) and TBD 5th starter – Astros 2021 projected rotation.
AJ Puk, Jesus Luzardo and Sean Manaea for us later on this year, with two of Jharel Cotton, Frankie Montas, James Kaprielian (assuming he ever gets healthy), Parker Dunshee and Brian Howard bringing up the rear of our rotation in 2020.
Do you assume Verlander will still be an ace in 2021?
Verlander will still be a solid starter in 2021, yes. Dude is ageless.
TBD. He’s shown no drop off thus far. He’s actually improved at age 36, so I can see him at least being MOR in 2021
You’ve got to think Atlanta and San Diego will also be contenders for that title…
Even with all the severe injuries to their prospects, I wouldn’t be surprised if the White Sox rotation is better than Detroit’s in 2021. Mize will be a stud, Manning should be good, but they don’t have much else. Faedo hasn’t really put impressive numbers in low-level ball. Maybe Perez becomes a solid starter once he gets over his injuries and progresses through the minor league system, but his rookie year might be 2021.
The Tigers current rotation is horrible. Boyd’s had a decent start for an otherwise very unimpressive career. When’s the bottom fall out for him? My guess is soon. Michael Fulmer wasn’t very good last season.
I’m not sure the Tigers rotation in 2021 will even be in the top 10. Too much can happen in that time, but from what I can see, the Tigers will have to get better pitching to compliment Mize and Manning (assuming they both will pan out). Maybe they will improve the pitching in that time, we’ll see.
Snell, Glasnow, Honeywell, McKay, opener.
Sure, Zack Meisel, the sky is falling.
He’s not incorrect. The Indians were extremely foolish to believe that their starting rotation alone would get them another division title. Now they are paying the price and I will give them a very satisfying “I told you so.”
Geez, the season is only 30 games in. A bit early to panic. They’re still in second place and have a winning record, in spite of all the adversity.
Successful teams find a way to win. But if you want to go root for someone else, then go.
It’s almost a lock that Boyd will become a Phillies trade target. They line up well in trade and could offer someone such as Nick Williams as a starting point who over his first 162 games in the big leagues averaged a .330 OBP, 20 homers and 85 RBI and shows no signs of really deviating from that norm when he actually gets playing time.
In your wildest dreams. Boyd is a young rising left handed starter with 3 years of control. Nick Williams is a displaced OFer who quite frankly isn’t that good.Over 800 PA’s hasn’t even register 1 WAR. He strikes out far too much and doesn’t have very good on base skills. If you look at his batted ball profile he also doesn’t hit a ton of balls very hard. I see little reason to think this guy has any bust out potential. He’s a third piece if Boyd is their target.
In your wildest dreams. Boyd is a young rising left handed starter with 3 years of control. Nick Williams is a displaced OFer who quite frankly isn’t that good.Over 800 PA’s he’s registered .9 fWAR. He strikes out far too much and doesn’t have very good on base skills. If you look at his batted ball profile he also doesn’t hit a ton of balls very hard. I see little reason to think this guy has any bust out potential. He’s a third piece if Boyd is their target.
Boyd is a young rising left handed starter with 3 years of control. Nick Williams is a displaced OFer who quite frankly isn’t that good.Over 800 PA’s he’s registered .9 fWAR. He strikes out far too much and doesn’t have very good on base skills. If you look at his batted ball profile he also doesn’t hit a ton of balls very hard. I see little reason to think this guy is likely to breakout. He’s a third piece if Boyd is their target.
Don’t know why that posted 3 times.
Neither do I, but I do know that Pete O’Brien does not get many rave reviews for his defense…
You mean Peter.
Pete O’Brien was a fine defensive player.
I’m not sure if Williams would be a start, But he could certainly be a piece. Considering how bad the tigers are, they may want well regarded low level prospects that will fit their timeline better.
Phillies conversation starts with Alec Bohm. No reason for the Tigers to trade him without receiving a top 50 or 2 top 100 prospects. Boyd is exactly the type of vet they would want to mentor all of the pitching prospects in the system.
In order to get Boyd, it has to be a package you don’t want to give up. If you don’t mind giving up the players, it isn’t enough.
He’s been good for ~37 innings. Let’s cool the jets a little bit here. He’s got to keep this up for at least another month+ if they want to legitimately discuss packages that “hurt” the receiving team.
I agree, Priggs89. They act like Boyd’s been a perennial Cy Young candidate since he came up. Before this season, he was horrible. Let’s see his numbers come July 1.
Hahn translation – Cease hasn’t signed the service time buyout we offered yet, so we are going to keep him in AAA until he passes all service time thresholds.
He’s already been in the minors long enough that they’ve delayed his free agency by a year. Unless they’re planning to keep him in the minors until 2020, the only thing they’d gain, service-wise, is keeping him from Super Two status. That hasn’t been much of an issue for the White Sox with past prospects.
That’s exactly what the White Sox plan on doing is bringing him up in mid April 2020 for an extra year of control. So he hasn’t crossed the threshold to gain a year in their eyes. They’re awful and will play the game with him too
What is the point of rushing prospects to the big league roster during a rebuilding year? Cease in particular is an unfinished product. He currently has two pitches that he can throw with confidence. You need a minimum of three pitches to start in the MLB.
No need for a service time buyout with any pitcher until about 2 years of proving they can stay healthy and are good at the ML level. Kopech/Dunning/Rodon prime examples why you don’t assume health or consistency.
Let’s make sure he can handle AAA hitting before bringing him up. He had 2 great starts followed by 2 not-so-great starts followed by a good start. The last thing you want to do is send him back down after bringing him up to Chicago, because he wasn’t ready yet.
Plus, he’s on a strict innings limit this year, so it’s not a great idea to bring him up at the beginning of May when the bullpen has already been heavily taxed this season.
It would be one thing if the Sox were just 1 SP away from contending. Obviously this is not the case–not even close.
And don’t get me wrong, I would love to see Cease in Chicago soon, but I’d rather not rush him up, especially since the team isn’t playing playoff-caliber baseball.
Would a flawed but still talented and young player like dustin fowler or franklin baretto be enough to pry away matt boyd? Maybe include a pitching prospect like parker dunshee too
Why would the Tigers take damaged goods for arguably the best starter that will be available on the trade market? He’s controlled for 3 more years and is entering his prime. Boyd’s cost is going to be high.
um no
You see damaged goods, your FO will see a 23 year old with a high ceiling who has options this year and a 24 year old outfielder with a high ceiling who has options for this year and next year.
If no other team was looking at Boyd that wouldn’t be a bad start, but the market for him is vast.
Seems like I read the same things about Fulmer a few years back…
And tigers missed the boat on that one. Time to raise Boyd’s stock and trade him for one too prospect. None of this 2 in top 100 garbage that gets you no where. A top positional player 3B SS or C.
If the Tigers deal Boyd, Atlanta is the most likely landing spot.
I feel like if the Padres think they could actually get close to a wild-card this year Boyd might be a good target. They have tons of prospects, of course, and Boyd is only 28, which sort of fits into their timeline of contention.
Tiger Fans: Why can’t we have nice things? When you are rebuilding, you need to keep the good young players.. Trading them away puts you back at square one. You trade the older players, and you sign the younger players to extensions. What logic is there to a rebuild that involves trading any player of value? (Thats the White Sox playbook. Not Detroits)
They kept Fulmer.
Fulmer’s been injured. Can’t foresee that and selling low on him last year would have been stupid. That’s no different than saying the White Sox should have traded Kopesch before he blew out his elbow.
They had an opportunity to trade him when he had value… during his rookie year or after winning rookie of the year.
Instead, they kept him. I believe they will build on Boyd and Fulmer.
Fulmer is done.
Sound theory, if you have older players with any value.
@stymeedone
That’s fine if you’re content with mediocrity year after year. It’s silly to waste great years from young players if the team’s going nowhere. If a full-blown rebuild makes more sense, you’d be a fool to hold on to a few good young players if you can turn those few good young players into several top prospects.
Personally, I’d rather be horrible for a few years if it ultimately means several years of contending for the WS than to win 75 to 80 games year after year with nothing but distant 3rd place finishes to show for it.
Time will tell how the trades ultimately went, but to get Moncada, Kopech, Eloy, Cease, Lopez and Dunning were nice returns for Sale, Q, and Eaton. I’ve already moved on from Giolito, which shows not every good prospect is going to pan out and emphasizes why you need to get as many top prospects as you can.
I’ve never been particularly high on Giolito, but I wouldn’t give up on him just yet. He has looked pretty solid in 3 out of his 5 starts (yes, 2 were against KC). His K’s are up substantially right now, and it’s in large part due to his fastball velocity, which is back up to 94+ on average (up ~1.5 MPH from last year). He’s touching 95-96 pretty consistently, which is a HUGE difference from where he was last year. Consider me cautiously optimistic.
Man, it’s almost like the Indians should’ve tried to improve this past offseason.
I heard an interview last night with Mitch Lukevics, director of minor league operations for the Tampa Bay Rays. He said the team doesn’t really care how many low-level ABs or innings their players have before they get moved up in the system. When someone’s ready to advance, they get promoted.
To be sure, Tampa’s situation is unusual — small market, inability to sign true stars to megadeals, etc. But you see them competing most years despite their youth because they believe in their scouting and development. It’s unreal a team like the Tigers or ChiSox with much deeper pockets wouldn’t do the same. (Maybe they don’t believe in their ability to evaluate or develop talent … )
The A’s should try to pick up Boyd. Mateo seems to have found his groove again and has experience at ss/2nd/cf. He is about ready and is having a very good year so far. The A’s could sweeten it with one of their OF prospects as well. A pitcher with a few years of arb control is something they need badly.
I hope Cleveland picks up Bartolo. Baseball doesn’t seem to be the same with some random highlight of his every week. He is still only 45 and needs 3 wins for 250 and 39 innings away from 3500. Would love to see him get them.
The A’s are trying to figure out their inventory, so adding Boyd is probably a nonstarter at the moment. What do we have with Matthew Boyd in our rotation? Pretty much just Matthew Boyd.
Now, if Luzardo, Manaea, Puk and Cotton get healthy and return this year that could change, but for now I doubt they’re looking to make a big splashy move to reinforce nothing.
Boyd to Brewers for Dubon, Erceg, and Lutz. Do it.
Boyd with another 7 inning, 2 run, 5 hits, 1 walk quality start this eve. That’s 6 quality starts in a row. It’s not a fluke