In addition to the Padres and Astros, add the Dodgers, Red Sox and Rays to the growing list of teams interested in Tigers starter Matthew Boyd ahead of the July 31st trade deadline according to the Detroit News’ Chris McCoskey.
The rebuilding Tigers who are looking to cash in on Boyd’s successes this season haven’t been bashful when it comes to their asking price for the breakout lefty. Mainly that can be attributed to his 3.56 FIP and 11.94 K/9 versus a paltry 1.68 BB/9 according to MLBTradeRumors.com. As a result, Boyd Connor Byrne of MLBTR notes that Boyd is among the top 10 starters within those categories and top five in K/BB ratio (1.68). Those are also explicitly numbers that’ll help offset his mediocre 3.87 ERA over 107 innings.
Another aspect that’s inflating Boyd’s value is his subtle $2.6 million dollar salary and three years of arbitration left on his deal.
For the Dodgers, Boyd’s presence in the rotation would be a nice addition and complement to the front end of Hyun-Jin Ryu, Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler. Boyd could also serve as a replacement for the 40-year-old Rich Hill who is in the final year of his deal with LA.
For the Braves, Boyd does have a history with GM Alex Anthopoulos who originally drafted Boyd in the sixth round while with the Blue Jays before trading him in a deal that netted Toronto David Price from the Tigers. And like the Dodgers, Boyd could serve as a nice long-term option given there’s no guarantee that Dallas Keuchel returns next season after signing a one-year, $13 million deal in June.
McCosky notes that the Tigers are looking for an MLB ready bat in return which isn’t shocking considering Detroit ranks at or near the bottom in team batting average, OPS, OBP, and slugging percentage.
