Chicago Cubs pitcher Matthew Boyd will not participate in Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game, and his replacement ruffled some feathers online.

Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd’s All-Star Game locker last week in Atlanta sat between those of Clayton Kershaw and Chris Sale. He let that sink in as he walked into the National

Chicago’s Matthew Boyd won a matchup of All-Star left-handers as Max Fried left early because of yet another blister on his pitching hand, and the Cubs stopped the New York Yankees’ five-game winning streak with a 5-2 victory.

There has only been one other Chicago Cubs pitcher in the last 125 years who has been on the kind of streak that Matthew Boyd is on right now, and that was Jon

On Saturday, the Cubs gave Boyd a lead to work with from the get-go. Nico Hoerner led off the first inning with a triple and scored on a groundout by Kyle Tucker. The Cubs then rallied for three runs in the third before Kelly tacked on a solo home run in the eighth.

Boyd was out of baseball 13 months ago. Since signing with Cleveland midway through 2024, he's been a certified ace. Now, he's an All-Star.

Locked in a tight NL Central race with the Milwaukee Brewers, the Chicago Cubs will do anything to separate themselves from the pack. Chicago’s best player, Kyle Tucker, is an impending free agent, and president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer is in the final year of his contract.

The Chicago Cubs couldn’t have performed much better than they did in the first half. But they still face questions coming out of the All-Star break.

Pitching remains Chicago’s top priority at the trade deadline, according to league sources briefed on the club’s wide-ranging search, which includes everyone from rental players, such as Arizona Diamondbacks starters Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, to potential closers to All-Star performers under club control who are viewed as unlikely to be moved.