MESA, Ariz. — Chicago Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd will start on Opening Day against the Washington Nationals, manager Craig Counsell announced Thursday — the same day Boyd rejoined Cubs spring training after pitching for Team USA in the opening round of the WBC.
Boyd, 35, wasn’t guaranteed innings the rest of the tournament after pitching in relief in Game 3 of pool play against Mexico, so he decided to return to Arizona.
“I wasn’t going to be starting in the next round,” Boyd explained. “And those guys are doing potentially four to six innings worth of work and we have some amazing bullpen arms after them on Team USA. So it was just more about potentially taking seven, eight days without making a start.”
Boyd noted that he hasn’t even pitched four innings this spring, so his starts the rest of camp will entail stretching him out in order to be ready for the regular season.
Counsell had Boyd in mind for Opening Day when spring training began but knew they would have to work through his time on Team USA.
“I think the waiting was just making sure that what happened in the WBC didn’t affect his preparation and we’re in good shape with that,” Counsell said. “You earn these things and I think Matthew has earned this with how he pitched last year and since coming back from an injury.”
Boyd expressed gratitude for being asked on Team USA, but manager Mark DeRosa tabbed Logan Webb, Paul Skenes and Nolan McLean to start the next three games if his team keeps advancing. Boyd’s usage couldn’t be mapped out, hence his return to camp.
“It was more just kind of like just waiting to see what was wanted of me after that,” Boyd said of his pool play appearance. “It just came down to there wasn’t going to be a lot of innings left.”
Boyd was signed as a back-end starter last offseason but emerged the Cubs’ best pitcher, making the All-Star team and getting important starts in the playoffs. He was 14-8 with a 3.21 ERA in 2025, which included making all 31 starts after missing much of the previous season with an arm injury.
“I’m so grateful to just be the guy that gets the ball on that day,” Boyd said. “We have a chance to do something really special this year. So I’m grateful to be part of this group.”
