5 starting pitchers the Minnesota Twins should go get now
4. Matthew Boyd, Detroit Tigers
It was a tale of two halves in 2019 for Boyd. Before the All-Star break, he had a 3.87 ERA with an 11.9 K/9 and a 1.7 BB/9 (7.1 K/BB ratio) over 18 starts (107 innings). In 14 starts post-break, he posted a 5.51 ERA with a similar K/9 rate (11.0) but markedly worse control (3.4 BB/9). He allowed the most home runs in the American League (39), but 24 of them came in June (10) and August (14) with ERAs (5.90 and 7.16) to show for it in those months.
The Tigers fielded offers for Boyd going into the trade deadline last July, which may or not have been a factor in his aforementioned struggles during August. So it wasn’t surprising they were open to moving him earlier this winter, with the Los Angeles Angels surfacing as suitor before things seemed to fade completely.
Sources: #Angels interested in trading for #Tigers LHP Matthew Boyd, but there’s no indication of progress toward a deal. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 17, 2019
Boyd is set to make $5.3 million this year after avoiding arbitration, and he’s got two more years of club control left. Those years of team control are definitely raising Detroit’s asking price, as much as they may even be motivated to trade him right now since a solid market hasn’t appeared to take shape.
The Twins should at least be looking for someone to put between Berrios and Odorizzi in the rotation. Boyd looks like a perfect fit in that regard, and if they don’t make a move to get him before Opening Day the door won’t be closed on getting him before July’s trade deadline.