The Detroit Tigers made the difficult decision to move on from LHP Matthew Boyd, not tendering him a contract offer and making him a free agent. He had been slated to make $7.3 million in his final season of arbitration eligibility.
Shortly after the decision was announced, Boyd took the time to thank Tigers fans for his time in the Motor City.
“It’s tough,” he said. “My family and I call Detroit home and we love Detroit and we love Michigan. We’ve spent more time in Michigan than we’ve spent in Seattle, where we call home. We’re so thankful to Michigan and Tigers fans.”
“We’re so thankful for the city of Detroit, the state of Michigan and Tigers fans for supporting me in my career, showing the love everywhere, and for their support of Ashley and I in our other passion, our calling, Kingdom Home. We’re eternally grateful for that.”
Boyd will certainly be drawing interest on the free-agent market, as several teams will be looking to add an arm to their rotation. Don’t be surprised to see Boyd land in another uniform before too long, but he’ll still always remember his time playing with Detroit.
“It’s sad in the sense of a chapter closing,” he said, “but it’s really exciting for what’s ahead. … I felt like I was throwing my best baseball last year, and now I’m tacking on a healthy arm.”
“If (the Tigers) weren’t going to give me a contract, then I wanted to see what was going to be available on the open market,” he explained.
– – Quotes via Jason Beck, Chris McCosky Link – –
