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Giants Place Jakob Junis On 15-Day IL Due To Left Hamstring Strain

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3:57PM: Junis has been diagnosed with a more serious Grade 2 strain, The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly reports (Twitter link).

3:08PM: The Giants placed right-hander Jakob Junis on the 15-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain.  The injury occurred in last night’s game, as Junis had to be removed after slipping off the mound.  Outfielder Heliot Ramos has been called up from Triple-A to take Junis’ spot on the active roster.

More will be known about Junis’ recovery timeline once he undergoes an MRI, but the injury is obviously serious enough that the Giants went ahead with the IL placement even before more tests were conducted on the hamstring.  Junis will now miss at least the next 15 days, and potentially longer should the strain prove to be a higher-grade issue.

After signing a one-year, $1.75MM free agent deal with San Francisco in March, Junis has seemingly become the latest pitcher to enjoy a career revival in the Bay Area.  Junis posted a 5.36 ERA over 240 innings with the Royals from 2019-21, but has thus far pitched to a 2.63 ERA, 47.8% grounder rate, and a 5.3% walk rate over 48 frames in 2022.  Advanced metrics (particularly a .231 BABIP, and a .266 wOBA that is far beneath his .325 xwOBA) indicate that some regression is probably inevitable, but it has nevertheless been a very solid start in terms of bottom-line numbers for the 29-year-old Junis.

This performance has helped stabilize a Giants rotation hurt by injuries, as Alex Cobb and Anthony DeSclafani are both still on the IL and Matthew Boyd has yet to pitch this season.  On that front (hat tip to MLB.com’s Maria I. Guardado), Cobb still just in the playing-catch phase as he recovers from a neck strain, while DeSclafani is set to begin a rehab assignment.  DeSclafani was moved to the 60-day IL due to ankle inflammation, and can’t be activated until June 21.  Boyd underwent flexor tendon surgery back in September and has advanced to the point where he will be facing hitters in a live batting-practice session.

Sam Long was already added to the roster to help out the rotation, and since the Giants have an off-day on June 16, they might be able to manage this lack of a fifth starter until DeSclafani is able to be reinstated.  If not, the Giants could turn to a bullpen game, as is the plan for today’s game against the Dodgers.

Giants Acquire Luke Williams From Phillies, Place Matthew Boyd On 60-Day Injured List

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The Giants have acquired utilityman Luke Williams from the Phillies in exchange for minor league third baseman Will Toffey and cash considerations.  Both teams have announced the trade.  To create a 40-man roster spot, the Giants placed southpaw Matthew Boyd on the 60-day injured list.

Williams was designated for assignment by Philadelphia earlier this week when the Nick Castellanos signing became official.  After six seasons in the Phils’ farm system and a brief stint in the Australian Baseball League, Williams made his MLB debut in 2021, appearing in 58 games.  While Williams hit only .245/.315/.316 in 108 plate appearances, he made a mark with his versatility, making multiple appearances at every position except catcher and pitcher.

Williams began his career as a third baseman, but has more recently moved all over the diamond, with the bulk of his brief big league career spent as an outfielder.  Giants manager Gabe Kapler is surely familiar with Williams from Kapler’s past job as the Phillies’ skipper, and San Francisco has frequently sought out multi-positional players in recent years.  Williams is also a right-handed hitter, which could give him an opportunity for playing time given how the Giants’ projected starting outfield (Mike Yastrzemski, LaMonte Wade Jr., and Joc Pederson) are all left-handed bats.

Toffey has something of a similar resume to Williams, as Toffey is also a third baseman who has started to branch out at other positions.  The 2021 season saw Toffey play both corner outfield positions, first base, and second base while playing with the Mets’ Double-A affiliate and the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate.  San Francisco acquired the 27-year-old Toffey from the Mets last July, with left-hander Anthony Banda going back to New York in return.

Boyd signed a one-year deal with the Giants last week, and the former Tigers lefty is set to earn $5.2MM in guaranteed money in 2022.  First, however, Boyd will have to fully recover from flexor tendon surgery last September.  The 60-day IL placement was expected, as Boyd wasn’t expected to be ready until early June.

Giants To Sign Matthew Boyd

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March 20: John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle provides the details on the incentives. Boyd will earn an extra $400K for reaching 12, 14 and 16 starts, $500K for 18 starts and $600K for 20 starts.

March 17: The Giants have agreed to a one-year deal with free-agent lefty Matthew Boyd, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. The longtime Tigers hurler will be guaranteed $5.2MM on the contract and can earn an additional $2.3MM via incentives. Boyd is represented by the Boras Corporation.

Matthew Boyd

Boyd, who turned 31 last month, underwent season-ending surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon last September and said in February that he’s targeting an early-June return to a big league mound. He’ll be sidelined for at least the first two months of the season, then, but will give San Francisco a potential midseason boost in the rotation.

At various points in his career, Boyd has shown flashes of brilliance and looked to be on the cusp of breaking out as an upper-echelon starter. He carried a 3.44 ERA through early June last season before an injury knocked him out of a June 14 start. He was sidelined two months, returned to throw eight ineffective innings, and underwent surgery shortly thereafter. The Tigers, knowing he’d miss a significant portion of the 2022 season, opted to non-tender him back in November rather than pay him a final raise in arbitration. The combined $5.2MM base and $2.3MM of incentives on this new contract give Boyd the opportunity to earn roughly the same amount as the $7.3MM at which MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had projected his 2022 arbitration salary ($7.3MM).

Last year wasn’t the only intriguing and promising stretch of his career, though. In 2019, Boyd had a 3.08 ERA and 2.98 FIP with elite strikeout and walk rates through mid-June, prompting him to be regarded as one of the most sought-after trade candidates on the market that season. He was sitting on a 3.94 ERA, a 3.26 SIERA, a 32.5% strikeout rate and 5.3% walk rate by the time the trade deadline rolled around, but he ultimately remained in Detroit.

Boyd’s ability to miss bats and limit walks has continually intrigued teams, but there tend to be other red flags that offset those promising trends. In 2019, when he ranked ninth in the Majors in strikeout percentage and eighth in K-BB%, he also served up an untenable 1.89 HR/9. This past season, when he tamped down that grisly home run rate all the way to 1.03 HR/9, it came with a huge dip in his strikeout rate.

If the Giants are able to get Boyd’s strikeout, walk and home-run prevention rates all working in sync for the first time in his career, there’s obvious potential for him to finally take that next step. San Francisco has developed a reputation as a club that thrives on coaxing breakouts from talented pitchers in need of a scenery change, and it certainly can’t hurt Boyd to be moving to the spacious Oracle Park (although Detroit’s Comerica Park is hardly a bandbox itself).

The Giants are heading into the season with a starting rotation of Logan Webb, Carlos Rodon, Anthony DeSclafani, Alex Wood and Alex Cobb — a talented and experienced mix that has potential to be one of the game’s more effective quintets. However, Rodon, Wood, Cobb and (to a lesser extent) DeSclafani all have checkered track records of health, so stockpiling depth to support that group is imperative. President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, GM Scott Harris and the rest of the front office have begun to do just that in recent days, signing not only Boyd but also former Royals righty Jakob Junis (one year, $1.75MM) and former Cardinals ace Carlos Martinez (minor league deal, $2.5MM base in the Majors).

AL Central Notes: Twins, IKF, Tigers, Anderson, Boyd, White Sox

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The Twins and Rangers combined on one of the most interesting early moves of the post-lockout period, agreeing to a trade earlier today that will see Isiah Kiner-Falefa and pitching prospect Ronny Henriquez head to Minnesota, while catcher Mitch Garver was dealt to Texas.  Speaking with reporters (including MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park) about the deal, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said the Twins were first in touch about Kiner-Falefa before the lockout, and Garver wasn’t initially part of trade talks until it became that such a notable price was necessary to pry Kiner-Falefa away from the Rangers.

While the presence of Ryan Jeffers ultimately made Garver expendable, Minnesota now has a new everyday shortstop, and a player who has generally looked like one of the league’s better defensive players no matter where Texas lined him up on the diamond.  Kiner-Falefa said he is happy to be getting an opportunity to start at what he considers his natural position of shortstop, and his addition means that the Twins can now keep Jorge Polanco at second base.

More from around the AL Central…

  • With Eduardo Rodriguez signed as the new headliner of the Tigers rotation, the team continues to look for more veteran help to fill a fourth or fifth starter role.  According to Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press, the Tigers had interest in Tyler Anderson both before and after the lockout, though they are “not aggressively pursuing Anderson” at the moment.  For some familiar AL Central names, Detroit is also not making a particular push towards free agent Michael Pineda, and the Tigers weren’t looking at Carlos Rodon before Rodon signed with the Giants yesterday.
  • A former Tiger is under consideration, however, as Petzold writes that the Tigers are among the multiple clubs interested in Matthew Boyd, who was non-tendered by Detroit in November.  Boyd’s projected $7.3MM arbitration price tag was too expensive for the Tigers considering that the southpaw was hampered by injuries last season and underwent flexor tendon surgery in September.  Boyd’s recovery will extend into the season but he is aiming to return by June 1.
  • “The pitching concerns might be a little heavier on our mind than the position player side of things,” White Sox GM Rick Hahn told The Athletic’s James Fegan and other reporters in discussing his club’s remaining targets during the offseason.  With so many available arms already flying off the board, Fegan guesses that bolstering the back end of the rotation now looks like a more immediately priority for the Sox than addressing other needs like second base or the outfield.  White Sox manager Tony La Russa told Fegan and other reporters today that pitching depth will be particularly important this season given the shortened Spring Training, though La Russa said his club is still aiming for a five-man rotation rather than a six-man staff.

Matthew Boyd Targeting Early June Return From Flexor Surgery

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Free-agent lefty Matthew Boyd, who underwent flexor tendon surgery late last September, tells Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press that he’s progressing nicely through his rehab program and is aiming for an early June return to a big league mound. Boyd recently began throwing from 75 feet, and he expects to begin throwing full bullpen sessions in the final weeks of March.

The 2021 season was shaping up to be a strong one for the 31-year-old Boyd, who started 15 games for Detroit and worked to a 3.89 ERA through 78 2/3 innings. Boyd switched his pitch selection up slightly, leaning on his changeup at a career-high rate while dropping his fastball usage to its lowest levels since 2018. The results were generally favorable, even as his strikeout rate dipped to 19.9% — its lowest mark since 2017. Despite the limited number of innings thrown, Boyd’s 285 changeups last year were the second-most he’s ever thrown in a big league season; opponents struggle, hitting just .247/.275/.351 with one homer in 80 plate appearances that ended with a Boyd changeup.

Boyd has, at various points in his career, shown flashes of brilliance and looked to be on the cusp of a breakout. He carried a 3.44 ERA through 13 starts last year before exiting his June 14 start after 2 1/3 innings and heading to the injured list. He returned for a brief spell in late August/early September but lasted just eight innings combined between two starts, yielding seven runs in that time. He underwent surgery later that month, and the Tigers non-tendered him rather than him one final arbitration raise (which MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had pegged at $7.3MM).

In 2019, Boyd had a 3.08 ERA and 2.98 FIP with elite strikeout and walk rates through mid-June, prompting him to be regarded as one of the most sought-after trade candidates on the market that season. He was sitting on a 3.94 ERA, a 3.26 SIERA, a 32.5% strikeout rate and 5.3% walk rate by the time the trade deadline rolled around, but he ultimately remained in Detroit.

Throughout his career, Boyd has at times demonstrated tantalizing skills, but he’s never pieced them all together in the same season. He ranked ninth in the Majors in strikeout rate and eighth in K-BB% back in 2019, for instance, but also served up home runs at a rate of 1.89 per nine frames. This past season, he held the long ball in check (1.03 HR/9) with excellent command but saw his strikeout rate dip. Given Boyd’s 4.96 ERA in 784 1/3 innings, many are perplexed by the repeated level of intrigue surrounding the southpaw, but there’s a general belief that his raw abilities point to another gear he simply has not yet reached for a sustained period.

Boyd, like other Major League free agents, isn’t able to sign right now with the lockout ongoing. Whenever the transaction freeze lifts, however, he’ll represent an appealing gamble — likely on a short-term deal — for a team that’s OK with waiting until the summer to see how his rehab has panned out. Petzold writes that Boyd and agent Scott Boras received interest from teams on both coasts and, a bit more specifically, from one of of Boyd’s former AL Central rivals.

Speculatively speaking, the Twins have the most glaring need for pitching within the division, although the dire nature of that need is enough to wonder whether they’d allocate resources to a pitcher who, at best, could only help for two-thirds of the season. The Royals would seem another sensible fit from the AL Central; they have plenty of young, in-house options to help bridge the gap to Boyd’s return, and he could in turn allow the team to manage the workloads of those young arms once he’s healthy.

Wherever Boyd lands, he’ll be hoping that a change of scenery brings about a prolonged stretch of the sporadic excellence that has punctuated his inconsistent career. If he’s able to pitch well this summer on a one-year deal, he could re-enter the market next winter in a much better position as he heads into his age-32 season. Alternatively, if Boyd and Boras prefer a more risk-averse approach, it’s relatively common for teams to give rehabbing pitchers of this nature a somewhat backloaded two-year contract. That’d provide Boyd with more up-front earning power but could potentially cost him money if he comes out of the gate throwing well whenever he does return.

Tigers Non-Tender Matthew Boyd

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The Tigers announced Tuesday that they will not tender a contract to left-hander Matthew Boyd, immediately making him a free agent. Boyd, 30, pitched just eight innings after June 14 this season due to a pair of forearm injuries, ultimately leading to flexor tendon surgery in late September. He’d been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $7.3MM in what would have been his final season of arbitration eligibility.

A specific timeline for Boyd’s return to the mound was never provided, with the team stating only it was “hopeful” he’d be able to pitch at some point in the 2022 season. Tigers GM Al Avila briefly discussed Boyd in his end-of-year press conference and acknowledged that a non-tender was a possibility. At the very least, it’s reasonable to expect Boyd to miss a notable portion of the 2022 campaign; were the Tigers expecting him to be ready early in the season, they’d surely have tendered him a contract, given his track record and lengthy tenure with the club.

The 2020 season was brutal for Boyd, who was knocked around for a 6.71 ERA, but he’s otherwise been a solid starter in Detroit — at times looking like an intriguing mid-rotation option. Boyd has shown the ability to miss bats in droves in the past, though he traded some punchouts for efficiency in 2021 when he attacked the strike zone at a career-best rate and accordingly dropped his walk rate to 6.8% — the second best mark of his career.

Even with that woeful 2020 showing, Boyd carries a 4.66 ERA, a 24.9% strikeout rate and a 6.9% walk rate over his past 494 2/3 innings at the MLB level. He’s often been homer-prone in the past, but Boyd has also gone through stretches where he looks on the cusp of taking his game to a new level. He pitched to a 3.44 ERA and 3.75 FIP through 13 starts this past season before landing on the injured list, for instance, and Boyd looked dominant for a good chunk of the 2019 season as well before a dismal second-half swoon. Whenever he’s healthy, Boyd will surely be viewed by teams around the league as an upside play who, with a few tweaks, could potentially sustain some of those flashes of success he’s shown in the past.

For the time being, with the looming lockout and uncertainty surrounding Boyd’s arm, it’s likely he’ll remain a free agent until the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement and instead field offers from other clubs once the forthcoming transaction freeze is lifted.

Tigers Expected To Non-Tender Matthew Boyd

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The Tigers are not expected to tender a contract to veteran starter Matthew Boyd, per a report from Chris McCosky of Detroit News. Boyd, who’s pitched for the Tigers in each of the last seven seasons and twice taken the ball on Opening Day, will become a free agent once the decision is made official. Were Boyd healthy, the Tigers may have made a different decision, but he had flexor tendon surgery in September and is expected to be out until at least June.

Since arriving from the Blue Jays at the 2015 trade deadline as part of a package that sent David Price to Toronto, Boyd has been a roughly league-average starter (95 ERA+ since 2016), serving as a fairly steady innings-eater before spikes in his walk and home run rates saw him post his worst numbers since his rookie season in the small sample of the 2020 season. He actually posted a career-best 3.89 ERA (4.10 FIP) in 2021, but a June triceps strain landed him on the IL for more than two months before a September forearm injury ended his season after 78 2/3 innings.

For his career, the lefty sports a 4.96 ERA (4.69 FIP) across 784 1/3 big-league innings. Entering his age-31 season in 2022, he’ll most likely look to catch on with a team in search of a veteran back-end rotation arm. Given his recent injury history, it’s possible some teams will see Boyd as a reliever, though 145 of his 149 career games have been starts, and he hasn’t appeared in relief since 2017.

Even in spite of an injury that will keep him out for at least a third of the season, Boyd is likely a safe bet for a major league deal, though he’s unlikely to approach the $6.5MM salary he received in 2021. MLBTR projected that Detroit would have been on the hook for $7.3MM had they tendered Boyd a contract for his fourth and final year of arbitration eligibility. With the near-certainty of the Dec. 2 lockout deadline approaching, the southpaw will have very little time to catch on with a new team before transactions stop, though he may choose to wait in an attempt to show teams a relatively clean bill of health.

The Tigers face a handful of non-tender decisions beyond Boyd. McCosky mentions 2018 All-Star Joe Jimenez (slated to make $1.8MM according to MLBTR projections) and the aging but serviceable Jose Cisnero (projected at $1.9MM), both of whom have some upside; Jimenez has swing-and-miss stuff but has struggled with command (his BB% spiked to 16.7% in 2021), while Cisnero has had considerably more success over the last two seasons despite also sporting an above-average walk rate. Still, neither of these salaries would have nearly the impact on the bottom line as Boyd’s.

Of course, the financial impact of the Tigers’ non-tender decisions pales in comparison to their expected commitments on the free agent market. Since signing Eduardo Rodriguez to a market-setting five-year, $77MM deal in mid-November, the Tigers have been linked many of the biggest names on the market, including Carlos Correa (MLBTR link), Marcus Semien (link; since reached an agreement with the Rangers), Javier Baez (link), and Robbie Ray (link).

Whether or not the Tigers add an additional starter in free agency, their rotation figures to be a strength in 2022, with Rodriguez heading a a cast of high-upside young arms in Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, and Matt Manning. Veteran righty Spencer Turnbull, who required Tommy John surgery after a hot start to the 2021 campaign, could also contribute down the stretch, though the club is unlikely to count on him until 2023.

Tigers’ GM Al Avila Discuses Offseason Priorities

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The Tigers are slated to enter the 2022 campaign with more hope than they’ve had in a long while. Detroit’s rebuild has begun to bear fruit, with the team’s above .500 showing from May 1 onwards suggesting the roster has at least progressed to respectable after a four-season stretch in which the Tigers were among the worst teams in the league.

Detroit dipped into free agency a bit last offseason, picking up Robbie Grossman and bringing back Jonathan Schoop. Those low-cost additions paid off, and both Grossman and Schoop will return in 2022 (the latter on a midseason, two-year extension). Owner Christopher Illitch suggested in August the club could make some “high-impact” additions to the roster this winter. Speaking with reporters (including Evan Woodbery of MLive, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News and Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press) this afternoon, general manager Al Avila shined some light on more specific target areas for the club.

Bolstering the starting pitching is a primary goal, with Avila bluntly noting that “an established starter would be a necessity, yes. … If you can add an established starter that can give you those type of innings, that’ll be a big plus for us. If we can’t, for whatever reason, then again, we’re going to have to mix and match more often. If we could come in and sign a good, established starter to be part of that rotation, it’s a big plus. We can’t guarantee that, because I don’t know how the market is going to play out.”

Detroit has broken in young pitchers like Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal and Matt Manning over the past couple years, but they’re lacking in veteran certainty at the moment. Excepting Mize, Spencer Turnbull and Matthew Boyd were the Tigers’ best starters this past season. Turnbull will miss most or all of next season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in July, and Boyd himself underwent a late-season elbow procedure that puts his future with the organization in question.

Boyd is expected to pitch at some point in 2022, but it’s not clear that’ll be in Detroit. The southpaw is entering his final season of arbitration eligibility and would be entitled to a raise on this year’s $6.5MM salary if tendered a contract. It’s possible Detroit non-tenders Boyd in hopes of re-signing him to a lesser salary. Doing that would give Boyd an opportunity to hear from other clubs, though, and Avila acknowledged such a scenario would involve “a decision to be made on his part, if it gets to that point.”

Regardless of whether the club tenders Boyd a contract, the season-opening rotation needs to be addressed. Manning himself struggled and could require some additional Triple-A time. Tyler Alexander had a nice season but has worked in a swing capacity throughout his career. Last offseason’s José Ureña pickup didn’t work out, while Wily Peralta quietly posted a 3.12 ERA over 92 1/3 innings but only struck out 14.4% of opposing hitters. Both Ureña and Peralta are slated to reach free agency this offseason. Reuniting with either player wouldn’t be costly, but both hurlers are better fits for the back-end of a rotation anyhow.

As always, free agency offers a wide variety of starting pitchers. Robbie Ray, Kevin Gausman, Marcus Stroman and former Tiger Max Scherzer are top-of-the-rotation arms who’ll land significant deals this winter. Jon Gray and Steven Matz are among the mid-rotation options, while there are a host of veteran innings-eater types who figure to land lower-cost one or two-year deals. Given the Tigers’ needs throughout the rotation, it seems likely Avila and his staff will try to land multiple additions, perhaps one higher-tier option and a more affordable back-end piece.

On the position player side, Avila pointed to shortstop and catcher as the most likely target areas. Niko Goodrum and Willi Castro are each coming off disappointing years, contributing to the Tigers’ cumulative .201/.275/.321 line from the shortstop position. The upcoming free agent class is loaded, and there’s already been speculation about the possibility of Astros star Carlos Correa reuniting with former Houston skipper A.J. Hinch in the Motor City. Correa’s just one of numerous options who’ll be available.

Any investment in the top of the shortstop market would certainly count as “high-impact,” but it’d require a significant expenditure. Avila didn’t rule out that possibility, telling reporters he’d have “no fear factor in signing a big contract” but cautioning that the front office doesn’t feel obligated to land a superstar in free agency.

The Tigers’ payroll outlook could certainly support such an investment, should Avila and his group zero in on Correa or any other top-of-the-market player. Detroit has just under $45MM on the books in guaranteed money for next season, in the estimation of Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez. That’s before accounting for an arbitration class that includes Turnbull, Michael Fulmer and Jeimer Candelario, but there’ll still be plenty of room if Illitch is willing to sign off on a payroll anywhere near the $160+MM range at which the franchise perennially spent before embarking on the rebuild.

With the rotation, shortstop and catching situation taking precedence, Avila downplayed the possibility of making significant alterations in the outfield. Grossman will return in a corner spot, while Akil Baddoo earned a season-opening job with an impressive performance as a Rule 5 draftee. Avila suggested top prospect Riley Greene could make an impact at some point, not surprising considering he’s begun his Triple-A career with a .308/.400/.553 line over 185 plate appearances. And the club still has Víctor Reyes and Derek Hill as in-house options capable of manning center field.

Hill, whose season ended early because of a meniscus tear in his left knee, will undergo surgery in the coming days, Hinch informed reporters. The manager downplayed the severity of the procedure, and it seems he’s expected to be ready for Spring Training. Hill’s one of numerous young players likely to take on key roles with next year’s club, but Avila’s comments unsurprisingly suggest the franchise anticipates taking further steps towards contention this winter.

Matthew Boyd To Undergo Flexor Tendon Surgery

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Tigers southpaw Matthew Boyd will undergo surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his left forearm, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Jason Beck of MLB.com). The team didn’t provide any specific timetable for his recovery, but they’re “hopeful” he’ll be able to pitch at some point in 2022.

It’s a disappointing but not wholly unexpected development. Boyd missed two and a half months earlier this season because of triceps discomfort, returning in late August. He made just two starts before landing back on the shelf due to recurring elbow soreness, and the team sent him to visit a specialist a couple weeks ago.

The small silver lining is that the repair which Boyd will undergo is a less extensive procedure than a full Tommy John surgery. That offers some hope he’ll make it back onto a mound next year, but he’s almost certainly going to miss a good portion of the upcoming season.

It’s possible the surgery brings a premature end to Boyd’s six-plus year tenure in Detroit. The 30-year-old is scheduled to go through the arbitration process for a third and final time this offseason. Were the Tigers to tender him a contract, he’d be due a raise on this season’s $6.5MM salary before reaching free agency at the end of the 2022 campaign. Now that he’s seemingly in line to miss much of next year, Boyd’s likely to be let go a year early.

Tigers GM Al Avila told reporters (including Evan Woodbery of MLive) the club isn’t ruling out the possibility of Boyd pitching there moving forward. That’d most likely come in the form of a lower cost, incentive-laden free agent deal after a non-tender. But a non-tender would give Boyd the opportunity to explore inquiries from other teams.

If this does wind up marking the end of Boyd’s time with the Tigers, it’d conclude a generally up-and-down tenure. Acquired from the Blue Jays at the 2015 trade deadline as part of the David Price deal, Boyd almost immediately stepped into the Tigers’ rotation. He’s remained a member of the starting staff ever since, settling in as a reliable back-end innings eater for the first few years.

That changed in 2019, when Boyd leaned more heavily on his four-seam fastball at the expense of his sinker and saw a huge uptick in whiffs. Through the end of July that year, he owned a 3.94 ERA with an elite 32.5% strikeout rate across 132 1/3 innings. That dramatically improved performance — coupled with the Tigers’ continued rebuild — made Boyd one of the hottest names on the summer trade market.

Ultimately, Detroit made the decision to hold onto Boyd past the deadline. That proved to be a misstep in retrospect. He struggled down the stretch that season before a very poor showing in last year’s shortened campaign.

Detroit continued to stick by Boyd, though, and he rewarded their faith with a bounceback showing in 2021. The huge strikeout stuff Boyd showed in that 2019 season has fallen all the way back to his early-career levels, but Boyd tamped down on his prior home run troubles early this season en route to a career-low 3.89 ERA in fifteen starts.

Injury Notes: Snell, Boyd, deGrom, Nimmo

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The big storylines from today’s Padres-Dodgers game all revolve around Max Scherzer. Not only did he become just the 19th pitcher in Major League history to reach 3,000 career strikeouts, he also threw an immaculate inning and carried a perfect game into the eighth inning. However, the opposing clubhouse didn’t have nearly as much to celebrate. Padres reliever Austin Adams tied a modern-day record for hit batsmen in a season and Blake Snell left the game after just 11 pitches with what the club later announced as “left adductor tightness”, also known as a groin injury.

This is very unfortunate timing for both the club and Snell, as they are in a crowded playoff race and he was just starting to turn his frustrating season around. Following a miserable outing against Oakland on July 28th, Snell was sitting on an ERA of 5.44 through 84 1/3 innings, with an elevated walk rate of 14.3%, well above this year’s league average of 8.7%. However, since that time, the lefty seemed to have got into a groove and righted the ship, throwing 43 2/3 innings with 65 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.85, along with a much-improved walk rate of 8.6%.

The severity of the injury isn’t clear at this point. But with the club currently tied with the Reds for the last National League Wild Card spot, with the Cardinals just a game back and other teams looming, every remaining game is tremendously important. Rotation health has been an ongoing issue for the club in the past few months, so much so that the club signed Jake Arrieta a few weeks ago to try and paper over the injuries. However, Arrieta landed on the IL himself and hasn’t been terribly effective in his two appearances with the Friars. Losing Snell for any amount of time, especially when he was throwing so well, would surely be a blow to their chances.

Some other injury updates…

  • Matt Boyd is meeting with elbow specialist Keith Meister, Tigers manager AJ Hinch tells Chris McCosky of The Detroit News. “He is scheduled to see Dr. Meister in Dallas and then we’ll get further evaluations and opinions and see what’s next for him,” Hinch said. While a meeting doesn’t necessarily spell doom, this is a potentially concerning development, given that Meister is often associated with Tommy John surgery. McCosky points out that Meister recently performed the procedure for Tigers catcher Jake Rogers, but the doctor has also recently taken the knife to Tyler Glasnow and many others. If any kind of serious surgery is required, it would be very poor timing, given that Boyd is currently slated to reach free agency after the 2022 season. The 30-year-old is playing this year on a $6.5MM salary and can be controlled for one more year via arbitration. Boyd’s name has been often mentioned as a trade candidate for the rebuilding Tigers in recent years, though a deal has yet to come to fruition. A lengthy surgery rehab could further dent any trade value he has left and also hurt Boyd’s chances to cash in on his quality career via free agency. Since the start of 2016, Boyd had given the Tigers 727 innings with an ERA of 4.75, accruing 10.2 fWAR in that time.
  • The Mets provided yet another vague update about Jacob deGrom, as manager Luis Rojas tells Anthony DiComo of MLB.com he is scheduled to throw off a mound, “maybe this week.” deGrom was on his way to a brilliant season before elbow issues put him on the shelf in July. Through 92 innings this season, he has an ERA of 1.08 with an excellent walk rate of 3.4% and an absurd strikeout rate of 45.1%. Given that there’s only three weeks remaining in the season, it seems that the chances of those winding up as his final numbers are growing.
  • In better news for the Mets, the prognosis for outfielder Brandon Nimmo seems to have improved. DiComo gives some details of the onfield workout Nimmo took part in today and says that Nimmo believes he can return to face Philadelphia, whom the Mets start a three-game series with on Friday. Going into tonight’s game against the Yankees, the Mets are 3 1/2 games out of a playoff spot and would surely love to get Nimmo back into the mix to help with their postseason push. In 77 games this year, the 28-year-old has hit .302/420/.415, an excellent wRC+ of 139.
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