The Chicago Cubs' season is off to a disappointing start. Through nine games, the defending National League Central champions currently sit at the bottom of their division with a 4-5 record. That rough start has only been exacerbated by a string of injuries on the mound; left-handers Justin Steele and Jordan Wicks were already on the injured list to open the season, and right-hander Cade Horton just joined them with forearm discomfort.
Now, another left-hander has gone down: the Cubs opening day starter, Matthew Boyd, is heading to the injured list with a left bicep strain. Right-hander Javier Assad will join the team and start in Boyd's place on Tuesday.
Depending on the severity of the strain, Boyd could be out for just a couple of weeks or upwards of a month. But in any case, the move forces the Cubs to dip even further into their pitching depth, not even ten games into their 2026 campaign.
Boyd, 35, struggled in his first two starts of the season, allowing seven earned runs in nine and one-third innings for a 6.75 ERA; however, those poor numbers could possibly be linked to the bicep strain that put him on the injured list, and even if there's no relation it's far too small of a sample size to panic over.
His first two starts of the season aside, Boyd was as dependable as it gets for the Cubs in 2025. It was a remarkable comeback season for the veteran left-hander, who had a 3.21 ERA over 179 and two-thirds innings and appeared in the All-Star game for the NL. After spending years battling injuries, 2025 was the first time Boyd threw more than 80 innings on the mound since the 2019 season.
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Horton was coming off of a fantastic rookie season, recording a 2.67 ERA across 118 innings at just 23 years of age. The right-hander finished second in Rookie of the Year voting and looked primed for a strong sophomore season, allowing just two earned runs in his first seven and a third innings to start 2026.
Coming less than 48 hours after the news that Horton would be going on the injured list, Boyd's injury puts a lot of pressure on the remaining members of the rotation to remain healthy and steady.
The Cubs' first line of reinforcements is very capable on the mound. Assad has plenty of major league experience across four major league seasons, boasting a 3.43 ERA over 331 career innings.
But any additional injuries would force them to dip further into their pitching depth, something no team wants to do this early in the season.
