As the final weekend of Major League Baseball’s first half kicked into gear, one topic took the league by storm.

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski was named to the NL All-Star roster, prompting outrage and bewilderment from fans and players alike since he is only five games into his MLB career:

But within that same story was a bit of news that flew sort of under the radar nationally because of the Misiorowski buzz: Cubs ace Matthew Boyd would no longer be participating in the All-Star Game. It was Boyd backing out that created room for the Brewers rookie on the roster.

When Boyd found out about his All-Star selection earlier in the week, it was a huge deal. Cubs fans rejoiced in seeing the veteran southpaw earn a distinguished honor amid his first year on the team.

And it was an even bigger deal to the 34-year-old Boyd, who was named an All-Star for the first time in his 11-year MLB career.

Boyd also could have been physically able to pitch Tuesday in the Midsummer Classic, as he lined up to start Saturday against the Yankees in New York. That meant he would conceivably have enough rest to pitch an inning Tuesday in the exhibition game (pitchers often throw a bullpen on the third day after a start).

So … why did Boyd back out of the game?

Allow the veteran to explain:

“Before I had the selection, before I got that honor,” Boyd said, “we were talking about just with everything in mind, with the innings last year and going into this break and how there’s an opportunity to kinda prolong the break depending on when I come back and pitch. And using it to our advantage that there’s only so many natural breaks you have in the season. So there’s a chance to kinda give you a breather, give you a blow if you will.

“‘Cause everything’s going great. But just knowing that [I’m] on pace to throw more innings than I have since 2019 — or already have thrown. So it was just kinda built in that way. I hope there’s another chance to pitch in the All-Star game. But the goal this year is to be fresh all the way through October. And something that we just gotta keep in mind as we go forward.”

After eight shutout innings Saturday, Boyd has now tossed 111.2 frames this year already. He threw only 110.2 innings during the 2023-24 seasons combined as he was laid up with Tommy John and the subsequent recovery.

Due to other injuries, Boyd hasn’t even topped 100 innings in a season since 2019, when he threw 185.1 for the Detroit Tigers.

It’s why manager Craig Counsell and the Cubs decided not to let Boyd come out for the possible complete game shutout Saturday — despite the fact that he was only at 85 pitches through a dominant eight innings.

The Cubs will roll out Colin Rea and Shota Imanaga for the first two games out of the All-Star Break, with Sunday’s starter listed as “TBD”:

So Boyd will get at least a full week to rest, now that he is not pitching in the All-Star Game.

The Cubs are prioritizing the big picture as they build toward what looks to be a pressure-packed pennant chase.

The entire organization believes this Cubs team is a true contender — they entered play Sunday with the top run differential in baseball — and they feel like a deep October run is in play.

So it’s understandable Boyd and Co. would want to place more of an emphasis on regular season action vs. pitching in an exhibition game, even if it is an honor and would undoubtedly be a rewarding experience. Just because Boyd is being replaced on the active roster doesn’t mean he is losing the honor. He will always have “AS” (for All-Star) written in the far right column on his Baseball Reference page.

Given all the other injuries to the rotation, Boyd has emerged as the ace of the Cubs staff. Shota Imanaga is back after a nearly two-month absence but Boyd has been the stabilizer for the team all year. Justin Steele won’t return this season, Javier Assad hasn’t pitched yet this year and Jameson Taillon is currently shelved with a calf injury.

It’s hard to imagine how the Cubs would be able to hold off the surging Brewers for first place if they were to lose Boyd for a significant period of time.