3 hidden gem free agents that Andrew Friedman may lure to Dodgers

2. Matthew Boyd

For most of his career with the Detroit Tigers, Matthew Boyd was a southpaw that had good stuff but was just waiting to put it all together and take that next step in the league. That never happened for Boyd in Detroit, as he finished his Tigers career with a 4.87 ERA in seven years.

It got so bad that Boyd was non-tendered by the Tigers after the 2021 season. Boyd signed a one-year deal with the San Francisco Giants prior to the 2022 season with his season debut being delayed due to recovery from a forearm injury.

The Giants would trade Boyd to the Seattle Mariners before he had the chance to make his San Francisco debut. In Seattle, Boyd appeared in 10 games and put together a 1.35 ERA. With his injury history and overall career numbers, though, he is not going to demand a huge market.

There is a lot of potential there, especially if the Dodgers want to turn him into a long-relief southpaw out of the bullpen. Who knows, Boyd could have a similar arc as Tyler Anderson in Los Angeles. There are some telling signs there that the Dodgers can unlock.

While it was a very small sample size, Boyd’s slider had the fifth-best xwOBA in the entire league last season. This is not new for Boyd as his slider was one of the best pitches in the sport in 2018 despite his overall numbers.

It is no coincidence that Boyd’s two best seasons are two of his lowest years in terms of fastball usage rate. The Dodgers are one of the best teams in the league in recognizing what someone is good at and what they aren’t good at and in LA, they would definitely maximize Boyd and have him lean into what he is good at.

A potential wipeout lefty with a nasty slider in the bullpen is worth the low cost.