Detroit Tigers left-hander Matthew Boyd is dealing with more elbow issues, forcing him to miss Friday’s start against the Tampa Bay Rays at Comerica Park.
Manager AJ Hinch said Boyd will need to be placed on the injured list for the second time this season. He first went to the injured list June 15 with left arm discomfort and wasn’t activated until Aug. 29. His latest injury is a product of “recurring elbow soreness.”
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The Tigers learned about Boyd’s injury around 8 p.m. Thursday. To replace him, left-hander Tyler Alexander is starting Friday.
“Similar to what he had prior to coming back,” Hinch continued Friday. “Bad news for us. Bad news for him. He’s going to go on the injured list at some point. We haven’t had time to bring up another player yet.”
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Boyd realized his elbow was bothering him against after Thursday’s throwing session with catcher Dustin Garneau at Comerica Park. The Tigers had just returned from Pittsburgh, where they wrapped up a three-game series Wednesday with the Pirates at PNC Park.
In Boyd’s two starts since returning from the left arm discomfort, the seven-year MLB veteran posted a 7.88 ERA, four walks and 11 strikeouts over eight innings against the Toronto Blue Jays (Aug. 29) and Cincinnati Reds (Sept. 4).
“I’m always concerned when it’s a recurring issue,” Hinch said. “He had four rehab starts and two starts back in the big leagues where he felt perfectly fine. And then yesterday playing catch, he did not feel as good. That’s concerning.”
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The 30-year-old will miss “at least a couple starts,” Hinch said. The Tigers will consider shutting Boyd down for the remainder of the season, but they want to wait for a complete medical report before taking the next step.
“We’ll see if he can make it back by the end of the year,” Hinch said, “but we need to get him further testing and get to the bottom of why this reappeared. I want to hear a doctor’s review of it before I make any plans. We need to get a full assessment of what’s going on.”
Boyd has a 3.89 ERA with 23 walks and 67 strikeouts over 78⅔ innings over 15 starts this season.
Evan Petzold is a sports reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.