Matthew

Boyd

Rea allowed nine hits — two of those homers — and he walked three against two strikeouts. The right-hander gave up two in the first, three in the second, and two more in the third in an outing that saw the 35-year-old’s ERA bump up to 5.19 in the process. Matthew Boyd will be back soon from his knee injury, but for now, Rea is scheduled to start against the Giants on Sunday.

Boyd figures to take the ball at some point against the Giants at Oracle Park this weekend. It’s a favorable matchup right out of the gate for the veteran southpaw after missing five weeks recovering from knee surgery. There’s some definite fantasy appeal in deeper mixed leagues despite some mixed results during a rehab start for Triple-A Iowa over the weekend.

Boyd threw five innings and allowed five runs during his rehab start Saturday for Triple-A Iowa while throwing 64-of-83 pitches for strikes. The 35-year-old has been limited to just five starts in 2026, and while he was shaky in those outing as seen in his 6.00 ERA, he offers some fantasy upside based on his success in 2025 and previous campaigns.

Boyd has been on the shelf since undergoing left knee surgery earlier this month following a freak accident while playing with his kids. The 35-year-old southpaw figures to need a couple rehab outings to build up his pitch count and stamina, but should be ready to rejoin Chicago’s lineup at some point in June.

There is no firm timeline yet for Boyd, so they are currently hoping for about a month. We’ll need to wait a couple more weeks before we have a clearer idea of how long Boyd will be sidelined, but four weeks is feasible to hold in an IL spot.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters earlier on Wednesday that Boyd will undergo surgery to repair a meniscus injury in his left knee that he suffered while playing with his kids at home. The 35-year-old left-hander was scheduled to take the ball on Friday against the Rangers. He’s facing an extended absence. There should be an update on his status following the procedure.

Counsell didn’t offer a potential return timeline, but Boyd is facing an extended absence. The 35-year-old southpaw suffered the injury while playing with his kids on Wednesday. He was scheduled to take the ball on Friday against the Rangers his next time out. There should be a definitive update on his status following the surgical procedure. Boyd can be safely dropped in nearly all fantasy formats. The latest hit to Chicago’s rotation depth comes after promising second-year starter Cade Horton was lost for the season to elbow surgery and Justin Steele suffered a setback in his return from Tommy John.

Boyd bounced back after his five-run outing against the Padres his last time out. He surrendered a two-run homer to Gabriel Moreno in the second inning, then settled in for four more scoreless frames on his way to a win. He struck out five. The 35-year-old left-hander will take a 6.00 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and a 31/6 K/BB ratio across 24 innings into a start against the Rangers in Texas on Friday.

Boyd’s second start back from the injured list was an ineffective one. The southpaw allowed eight hits, issued a pair of walks, and struck out four despite generating only six swings-and-misses over 91 pitches. That pushes his ERA to 7.00 on the season, which is less than desirable. He’ll try and lower that number — it’s hard to raise it much when it gets this high, at least — against the Diamondbacks on Sunday.

Boyd was lifted after 84 pitches (56 strikes) as the Cubs didn’t want to push him too far from a workload standpoint in his return from the injured list. The -year-old veteran southpaw generated 12 swinging strikes and gave up only five hits, falling just short of qualifying for a win in this one. He’ll bring a pedestrian 5.79 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 22/3 K/BB ratio across 14 innings into a road outing against the Padres on Monday.