CHICAGO — Matthew Boyd only threw 39.2 innings last year, but he was stellar.

The Cubs saw that, so they went and got him in the offseason.

Before Boyd went out and notched his eighth win of the 2025 season in a 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Guardians, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer praised what the lefty has meant to the Cubs.

[Cubs takeaways: What we learned in series-opening win over Guardians]

“He certainly exceeded expectations for us,” Hoyer said, speaking from the Cubs dugout on Tuesday afternoon. “It’s a great thing to be able to say at this time of year.”

After 17 starts, Boyd has cemented himself as the Cubs’ true ace thus far this season. He has an NL-sixth-best 2.65 ERA. His seven-inning, five-strikeout performance against his former team Tuesday night was his 12th quality start of the campaign.

That’s a dozen times that he has gone six or more innings and allowed three or fewer earned runs. For a pitching staff that’s endured multiple injuries this season, he’s provided the stability the Cubs have needed to stay afloat in first place.

“I just know what I expect of myself when the ball is in my hand,” Boyd said after the win. “I’m just called to pitch, and that means something for me.”

Boyd has given the Cubs 98.2 innings so far this season, the most he’s worked since 2019. The 34-year-old always had the belief that he could get back on track.

“When I first got hurt in 2021, I knew my best was still ahead of me,” Boyd said of the triceps strain and subsequent forearm injury that kept him out for most of the Detroit Tigers’ season. “I was like, ‘Okay, this is what I’m going to do when the ball is in my hand.’ Unfortunately, there was quite some time before I was healthy. (My) health got in the way of that.”

Tommy John surgery kept Boyd out from June 2023 until August 2024. He was lights-out after signing with Cleveland and finally returning to pitch, with a 2.72 ERA in eight starts. He posted a 0.77 ERA in three postseason starts with the Guardians.

“We were very optimistic based on a small sample,” Hoyer said. “Obviously, he pitched in the playoffs and we saw him firsthand. But you never know exactly, and it was a bit of an unusual background.”

That optimism has worked out wonderfully for the Cubs. With the numbers he’s putting up, Boyd is knocking on the door of a first-ever All-Star bid.

“Oh man. That’d be quite an honor,” Boyd said of making the Midsummer Classic.

Boyd paused momentarily, taking a few beats to truly soak in what it would mean to him.

“I don’t get to make that decision — somebody else does,” he continued. “But if that honor did come, it would be something rather special.”

It would undoubtedly be quite the chapter of a comeback story for Boyd that has taken so long to develop. But right now, he’s focused on doing his job for a Cubs team he’s carried so gracefully this season.

“I’m grateful to be healthy, to be out there,” he said. “My mind is just solely focused on competing, and I’m grateful that I get to do that in a Cubs uniform.”