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When the Detroit Tigers traded David Price to the Toronto Blue Jays last summer, the biggest name to come back in the deal was 22-year-old southpaw Daniel Norris, who went on to shine through eight starts in the Olde English D. However, the Tigers also received two additional left-handers in that package in Matt Boyd and Jairo Labourt, the former of which saw MLB action last year as well.
Through a combined 13 games (12 starts) with the Blue Jays and Tigers last season, Boyd went only 1-6 with a 7.53 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. That said, the now 25-year-old went 15-12 with an impressive 2.48 ERA and an 0.99 WHIP over his three-year minor league career.
Still, going into spring training, Boyd may have a hard time cracking the team’s 25-man roster. The rotation may already be about set with Justin Verlander, Jordan Zimmermann, Anibal Sanchez, Mike Pelfrey and presumably Norris. There may be a spot or two up for grabs in the bullpen, but Boyd has come up as a starter and may be better suited for that role.
Assuming Boyd starts the season in Triple-A Toledo, however, he could serve as an important depth piece for the Tigers’ staff in 2016. After all, even though Verlander and Zimmermann should be a great 1-2 punch, there are plenty of question marks in Detroit’s rotation. Sanchez had a rough season in 2015, Pelfrey didn’t exactly have a great run with the Minnesota Twins over the past three years and it will be interesting to see how Norris will do over the course of a full season.
Although Boyd may have had a rather uninspiring showing in Detroit last year, his minor league resume suggests that he could eventually be capable of doing much, much better. If the Tigers’ rotation runs into trouble, it will be helpful to have pitchers such as Boyd, Shane Greene and Buck Farmer who may be able to help out if need be.
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