Detroit Tigers: 4 short-term starting pitcher deals to explore

Matthew Boyd

Maybe not the reunion you were expecting or hoping for, but we went over that already. But I think there’s a distinct possibility that Matthew Boyd returns to Detroit this offseason. Here’s why.

Scott Harris was responsible for bringing Boyd to San Francisco this past offseason, where he unfortunately never pitched for them due to injury. He obviously liked Boyd, and Boyd has had nothing but good things to say about his time in Detroit. It feels like a good match.

There a couple of question marks about this, however. One, he could easily return to his hometown Seattle Mariners, who just made the playoffs for the first time in 21 years. He was very emotional about it at the team’s playoff-clinching celebration.

The second question is if the Detroit Tigers actually do bring back Boyd, what kind of role does he play? Would he be a starter or a reliever? The Mariners used him out of the bullpen. For the Tigers, I think it has a lot to do with whether or not they bring back Tyler Alexander. If they choose to non-tender him, they could use Boyd in the same swing-man role that Alexander served as.

Matthew Boyd is a good human being. It’s unfortunate how his tenure ended the first time around. It would be nice to have him back in the old English D.