Matthew Boyd named 2019 Tiger of the Year in a landslide

Chris McCosky
The Detroit News

Detroit — The last couple of years, the Tiger of the Year Award has ended being a departing gift bestowed by the Detroit Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America, with Justin Upton (traded to Anaheim) winning in 2017 and Nick Castellanos (Cubs) in 2018.

This year’s winner, starting pitcher Matthew Boyd, also has had his name bandied about by the trade winds. But as things stand now, Boyd, eligible for arbitration and under team control for three more seasons, is expected to enter the 2020 season as the team’s ace.

Tigers pitcher Matthew Boyd was voted Tiger of the Year by the Detroit Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America, which was announced Thursday.

Boyd got 15 first-place votes, 12 more than runner-up Miguel Cabrera.

“It’s such an honor,” Boyd said from his home outside of Seattle. “I’m so grateful for this. It’s not about me, though. This wouldn’t be possible without all the guys who caught me — Grayson (Greiner), Hicksy (John Hicks), Bobby Wilson and Rodg (Jake Rogers) — and all my teammates and coaches.

“I didn’t do it on my own.”

It’s probably fitting that the Tiger of the Year recipient in a 114-loss season had a mercurial run. On the negative, the Tigers won just 11 times in his career-high 32 starts, his ERA was just under 6.0 after the All-Star break and he led the American League allowing 39 home runs.

On the positive, his 3.5 WAR led the team and he set a club record averaging 11.56 strikeouts per nine innings (fourth best in the American League). His 238 punch-outs were the fifth most ever by a Tigers lefty and sixth in the American League.

He allowed two runs or less in 14 starts, three runs or less in 22 starts.

“We grew a lot this year,” Boyd said. “I can’t wait to go forward and continue to grow and work to bring a championship to this city.”

Boyd, along with his wife Ashley, also was honored last month by The Detroit News as a Michiganian of the Year.  

Ramirez back in fold 

It seemed odd when the Tigers designated left-handed reliever Nick Ramirez for assignment last month. After all, his 79.2 innings of work led all Tigers relievers, and he wasn't called up until May 11. 

But, he wasn't gone long. 

On Thursday, Ramirez agreed to return to the Tigers on a minor-league contract in 2020. He will likely be invited to big-league camp in February. 

Also agreeing to minor-league deals were right-handed pitchers Tim Adelman and Anthony Castro, first baseman Frank Schwindel and outfielder José Azocar.

chris.mccosky@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @cmccosky