Phillies: Top 5 starting pitching trade targets, per MLB Trade Rumors
By David Esser
Matthew Boyd, Detroit Tigers
A player whose name has oft been mentioned on the MLB’s “hot stove,” 2021 should finally be the year that the Detroit Tigers deal southpaw Matthew Boyd. The Tigers have just one more year of control on Boyd after 2021, with 2023 being the year that he can hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent. With the Tigers still neck deep in their rebuilding process, pouncing on Boyd’s value during what’s been a productive season thus far makes sense.
The #4 player on MLBTR’s list, Boyd also makes sense for what the Phillies could be after this season. He’s relatively cheap from a money standpoint at just $6.5 million, and he’s a lefty – something the Phillies have been desperate to get into their rotation ever since Cole Hamels departed during the mid-2010s.
What really sticks out about Boyd to me compared to the likes of the aforementioned Gray is the extra year of team control. As much as we all want the Phillies to go all-in on a playoff run this season, it genuinely feels like “retooling” for the 2022 season makes more sense in the grand scheme of things.
I’d feel better about potentially giving up prospects for an aging pitcher if I knew he’d be around next season.