Cubs Provide Injury Update on Matthew Boyd originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

During Friday’s game against the Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs’ starter Matthew Boyd made an unreal catch on a line-drive hit by JP Crawford coming right for Boyd on the mound.

J.P. Crawford couldn’t believe that Matthew Boyd caught this liner 😮 pic.twitter.com/bL3wQtirBK

— MLB (@MLB) June 20, 2025

Although the catch will be in highlight reels, the pitcher contorted his body in an unusual way to make the catch and wound up injured afterward.

Initially, Boyd made the catch as he fell to the ground, made his way to his feet, and walked off the mound with a smile after the phenomenal play. But after five innings and just 76 pitches, the Cubs starter did not return for the sixth inning, which raised concerns.

After the game, Cubs manager Craig Counsell said it was Boyd’s left shoulder that was bothering him after the play.

“Obviously, it was a very hard hit. And the shoulder, he caught the ball, obviously, but the shoulder – his left shoulder – took the brunt of it,” Counsell said (h/t ChiCity Sports). “So had a pretty big bruise on his left shoulder, kind of on the front of his shoulder, and it just stiffened up pretty quickly. So there was no way to go back out there.”

Although the injury ended Boyd’s outing on Friday, the Cubs pitcher didn’t seem to think it would be anything long-term, which is great news for the Cubs.

“My glove was up against my shoulder, and it kind of got me in a spot a little bit,” Boyd said via the Chicago Tribune. “It swelled up a little bit, and as the half-inning went on it tightened up. It was more precautionary than anything … I don’t foresee it being an issue.”

Outside of Shota Imanaga, Boyd has been the Cubs’ best starting pitcher in 2025. He boasts a 2.84 ERA across 85.2 innings pitched this season.

Despite the positive news of a near Imanaga return, the Cubs can’t afford to lose Boyd for an extended period of time. But Boyd seems confident that the injury was more of a scare than anything else. We’ll see in the coming days how his shoulder responds and the severity of the injury.

Related: Cubs Get Concerning Update from Red Sox on Kyle Tucker’s Free Agency

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 22, 2025, where it first appeared.