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Philadelphia Phillies: Five players to reunite with Dave Dombrowski

By George Stockburger

BOSTON, MA - APRIL 15: Craig Kimbrel #46 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates a victory after the ninth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays with teammate Christian Vazquez #7 at Fenway Park on April 15, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. All players are wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. The Red Sox won 5-3. (Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - APRIL 15: Craig Kimbrel #46 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates a victory after the ninth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays with teammate Christian Vazquez #7 at Fenway Park on April 15, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. All players are wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. The Red Sox won 5-3. (Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images) /
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Sep 20, 2020; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Matthew Boyd (48) during the game against the Cleveland Indians at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 20, 2020; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Matthew Boyd (48) during the game against the Cleveland Indians at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /

The Philadelphia Phillies might luck out with a left-handed starter.

One of the only current or former Detroit Tigers who makes sense for the Phillies to acquire that played under Dombrowski would be left-handed starting pitcher Matthew Boyd.

In one of his final moves as the Tigers general manager, Dombrowski traded pitcher David Price to the Toronto Blue Jays for Boyd, Jairo Labourt and Daniel Norris.

DETROIT, MI – SEPTEMBER 20: Matthew Boyd #48 of the Detroit Tigers heads for the dugout after being pulled during the sixth inning of a game against the Cleveland Indians at Comerica Park on September 20, 2020, in Detroit, Michigan. The Indians defeated the Tigers 7-4. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – SEPTEMBER 20: Matthew Boyd #48 of the Detroit Tigers heads for the dugout after being pulled during the sixth inning of a game against the Cleveland Indians at Comerica Park on September 20, 2020, in Detroit, Michigan. The Indians defeated the Tigers 7-4. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /

A sixth-round pick by the Blue Jays out of Oregon State, Boyd made two short starts for Toronto before being traded. Dombrowski clearly liked Boyd if he traded David Price for him, and Boyd has shown flashes of being a top of the rotation pitcher.

Overall, Boyd’s career numbers are not that great for the Tigers. In 132 games he has a 4.98 ERA and is 18 games under .500 with 34 wins and 52 losses. He turned heads in 2019 with a 3.08 ERA and 105 strikeouts through his first 12 starts, but floundered in his final eight starts before the trade deadline, posting a 5.48 ERA.

The 2020 season drove Boyd’s trade value down even more with a -0.6 WAR and a 6.71 ERA, which could lead the Tigers to either hold onto him with the hopes he rebounds or flip him while they can.

Would the Phillies and Tigers entertain flipping Vince Velasquez and Boyd, two pitchers who have high potential but need a change in scenery? The lefty Boyd has one more year of arbitration and will cost a couple million dollars more than Velasquez (pending arbitration) but perhaps new pitching coach Caleb Cotham could unlock whatever’s holding Boyd back from being the pitcher he was in early 2019.

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