Boyd focused on Christmas, a personal gift for all his post-surgery work.

“My first casts would be 45 feet,” he said.

Boyd, a left-handed pitcher with 10 years and 880 MLB innings, was about to find out if more baseball was in his future.

The temperature that morning was around 40 degrees. His garage was heated. So he stood there. He walked 45 feet and placed a net in his driveway. Then he started throwing. And throw. Not hard, but he threw. A game of catch with the net on a chilly Christmas morning. Boyd remembered that there was snow on the ground.

“My wife came out and took a video,” he said. “She said we want to keep this and remember it when I’m pitching in the playoffs and the World Series.”

Boyd smiled as he remembered Ashley Boyd’s words.

“At that point I wasn’t on any team,” he said. “I knew I could come back, but I never expected this.”

The long road

This is his first MLB game in 422 days, as he defeated the Cubs 2-1 on August 13. This is one of Cleveland’s best pitchers over the final six weeks of the season. This is a starter for the upcoming playoffs.

As we talked in the clubhouse, Boyd used the word “great” about ten times. What happened to him was astonishing. The Guardians are great. The coaches are great. The boys are great.

It’s all… wonderful.

“I didn’t have a team at the beginning of spring training,” he said. “I didn’t have a team on opening day. On June 1, I had no team.”

He knew he would throw again someday… somewhere… at some point.

Boyd had pitched eight years with Detroit and compiled a 42-65 record and a 4.93 ERA. When healthy, he was a guy who could pitch respectably and eat up innings.

Arm problems started in 2020. In September 2021, he underwent flexor tendon surgery on his left arm. He returned near the end of the 2022 season and had a 1.35 ERA in 13⅓ innings.

In 2023, he had a 5-5 record and an ERA of 5.45. He knew there was still something wrong with his arm. That led to Tommy John surgery.

Take a chance

While Boyd was rehabbing his arm, some teams called.

“They all offered minor league contracts,” he said. “The teams were a little worried because it was my second arm operation.”

He decided to pass on the minor league deals.

“This is going to be a risk, but let’s wait until we can show the teams what you can do when you’re fully healthy,” agent Scott Boras told Boyd.

So they waited, and Boyd continued building up his arm. Cleveland and other teams were aware of him. Nearly every MLB team was looking for starting pitchers.

Boyd’s representatives set up a showcase. He was scheduled to throw a 55-pitch bullpen session at UCLA on June 7.

“There were 18 teams (in attendance),” Boyd said. “I was a little nervous, but I felt good about my arm and the progress we had made. I threw my 55 pitches and then waited to see what happened.”

Who was the catcher?

“He was a nice kid from UCLA,” he said. “I can’t remember his name.”

Cleveland comes calling

The Guardians had one of their scouts at the showcase. But before that, they had already kept an eye on Boyd. His representatives had video and other stats available from various bullpen sessions.

“Now we don’t have to rely solely on our eyes,” said Chris Antonetti, president of Guardians. “We have a lot of different data. Our decision to pursue Matt was not based on one bullpen session.

“Cleveland was the first team to call,” Boyd said. “I was so excited. I know Vogter (manager Stephen Vogt). Pitching against them (with Detroit) for so long, I really knew them.

Boyd went to Oregon State. He contacted Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan, another Oregon State product.

“The more people I talked to, the more I heard that something special was happening in Cleveland,” he said. “It was a place I wanted to be.”

Why Cleveland wanted Boyd

The Guardians knew Boyd well from his time with the Tigers.

“He had a reputation as an incredible teammate,” Antonetti said. “What we had to do was figure out when he would be ready to pitch. Would it be this season, or next season?”

Cleveland checked his medical reports and bullpen session records. He signed a one-year contract with the Guardians on June 29. Cleveland knew he needed time to build arm strength, and they set up a schedule where he would pitch in minor league games.

The Guardians did not rush the process. Boyd made five minor league starts, totaling 21⅓ innings. He allowed only two runs.

One of the reasons Boyd wanted to come to Cleveland is the reputation of developing and rehabbing pitchers.

Who knew?

In eight starts with the Guardians, Boyd is 2-2 with a 2.72 ERA. He has fanned 46 in 39⅔ innings, with 13 walks.

He is an experienced pitcher who works the angles, changes the speed and uses four different pitches.

“That was a big thing,” he said. “I can throw all my pitches with confidence. I continued to work on the different pitches in those (minor league) starts.”

The Guardians are overjoyed with Boyd.

“It’s a little unreasonable to expect a pitcher coming from Tommy John to immediately throw as well as Matt,” Antonetti said. “But now that I’ve gotten to know Matt personally, I’m not surprised by his success. He has an incredible work ethic that allows him to maximize his potential every day. He is an incredible teammate who elevates the environment around him. He made a huge impact on us.”

Boyd also used the word “grateful” several times during our conversation. Research shows that 36% of current MLB pitchers have undergone Tommy John surgery. Not all of them come back as quickly or as well as Boyd.

Now it’s the play-offs.

And yes, he can go back and watch the video his wife took on Christmas morning — the one he said he wanted to see when he was pitching in the postseason.