A year after leaving, Matthew Boyd is returning to Detroit.
The Tigers are bringing back the free agent southpaw on a one-year deal reportedly worth $10 million, their first significant signing under new president of baseball operations Scott Harris.
Boyd, 31, missed most of last season rehabbing from elbow surgery he underwent in September of 2021, his last season with the Tigers. After signing a one-year, $5.2 million deal with the Giants, he was traded in August to the Mariners where he made his season debut in September (and later reached the playoffs for the frist time in his career).
Boyd went on to log a 1.35 ERA in 10 games out of Seattle's bullpen, his first relief stint in the majors. He is much likelier to rejoin Detroit's rotation, given what the club paid to acquire him.
He had a 3.44 ERA (3.75 FIP) through 13 starts for the Tigers in 2021 before his elbow injury shelved him for most of the rest of the season. That's the pitcher the Tigers will hope to revive, with the help of pitching coach Chris Fetter and newly-hired assistant pitching coach and kinesiology expert Robin Lund.
So long as he stays healthy, Boyd should help stabilize a staff that was ravaged by injuries last season. The Tigers lost headliners Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal to elbow injuries that required surgery, and the former may not pitch again until 2023.
Eduardo Rodriguez and Matt Manning are the only two pitchers that can be penciled into the Tigers' Opening Day rotation. Boyd likely makes it three.
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