PEORIA, Ariz. \u2013 Spring training looked a lot different last year for left-hander Matt Boyd<\/b>, who made his Cubs Cactus League debut on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis time last year, I was getting ready for the Little League season and doing my rehab at home,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m grateful to be here right now and to be working in games and working through situations \u2013 excited to have a healthy year ahead of me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boyd, coming off his first season post-Tommy John surgery, threw two scoreless innings Monday against the Padres. He limited San Diego to two hits, with two walks and two strikeouts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t have wished the last few years on anybody,\u201d he said of a series of injury-riddled seasons. \u201cBut those were a blessing to me, too. So I get to put on this Cubs uniform, all the history that comes with it. I get to go play at Wrigley Field; that\u2019s something that I don\u2019t take lightly. I\u2019m super thankful for, I\u2019m super excited for, that opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we get to be in a clubhouse with just amazing talent, and some amazing people. So a lot of things to be grateful for. It\u2019s an awesome blank canvas ahead of us for this team. And it\u2019s exciting to know that it\u2019s going to be what we make of it, not what anybody else says.\u201d<\/p>\n
After signing a two-year deal worth $29 million with the Cubs this offseason, Boyd is set to be a regular rotation member. But with Boyd\u2019s injury history in mind, the Cubs will adjust their workload expectations as needed through the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to get too sensitive about it,\u201d manager Craig Counsell said. \u201cBecause we want him to pitch, and one of the reasons we were interested, is we thought he was set up to really have this great full season. But we\u2019ve just got to watch those cues.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boyd worked with catcher Miguel Amaya<\/b> on Monday. They talked in between innings, and once in a while mid-at-bat, the veteran left-hander gave input on sequencing through PitchCom.<\/p>\n
Boyd described the 25-year-old Amaya as \u201cwise beyond his years.\u201d Boyd said his slider was flatter than he wanted it Monday, and Amaya gave him feedback like: \u201cGreat location. Shape was a little different.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boyd beamed as he described the back-and-forth. It\u2019s a normal part of spring trainer for new battery mates. For Boyd, normal was refreshing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou go back a calendar year, I wasn\u2019t on a team, I didn\u2019t have a chance to get a big league job.\u201d he said. \u201cBut there was gratitude in getting to be home, as weird as that sounds. I got to coach my kids; a lot of guys don\u2019t get that opportunity in the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully I don\u2019t have that opportunity for about six-plus more years.\u201d<\/p>\n
First baseman Justin Turner,<\/b> who the Cubs signed last week, made his Cactus League debut with his new team on Monday. He went 2-for-2 and drew a walk.<\/p>\n
His first day in camp was Thursday, and he was taking live batting practice by the next day.<\/p>\n
The undefeated Cubs extended their Cactus League winning streak to five games on Monday. They reclaimed the advantage with a five-run sixth inning and held on to the lead the rest of the way.<\/p>\n
Boyd pitched two innings in his Cubs spring training debut Monday against the Padres.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":36665,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n