Just maybe the Guardians were right not to re-sign Matthew Boyd

After what proved to be an impressive late-season stretch of pitching from left-hander Matthew Boyd, there was some hope that the Cleveland Guardians could retain his services by way of a new contract. The only problem was that Boyd's performance effectively priced himself out of the Guardians' range, making it very unlikely that Cleveland would be able to afford him.

Boyd would end up signing a two-year $29 million deal with the Chicago Cubs. The deal also included a mutual option for a third year at $15 million with a $2 million buyout. This was a contract that was outside of Cleveland's financial comfort zone, and as it turns out, that might not have been a bad thing.

A recent survey of MLB insiders appearing in The Athletic (subscription required) voted on which free agent contracts they considered to be the worst, and Boyd's deal with the Cubs made the list. The two-year pact between Chicago and Boyd received six votes, tied with Max Scherzer for fourth. Players receiving more votes than Boyd and Scherzer were Luis Severino (7), Max Fried (9), and Juan Soto (10).

There is a known amount of risk with Boyd, and signing him for $29 million over two years with the potential for a third is not something the Guardians would be interested in. The 34-year-old left-hander is not that far removed from having Tommy John surgery, and his eight-game sample size since then, while impressive, could very well be an outlier.

Boyd's effectiveness has fluctuated throughout his career, rarely producing consistently good results year over year. This, paired with being in his mid-30s, makes it a little bit harder to reasonably justify taking on the risk that comes with a contract of this value. Instead, the Guardians opted to bring in younger, cost-controlled arms, which could end up producing a better value-to-dollar ratio than what Boyd can provide.

This approach could prove to be a big-time difference-maker for the way Cleveland's front office approaches future deals, as they have more financial flexibility to work with. If missing out on bringing Boyd back makes it more financially viable for the Guardians to extend one or both of Steven Kwan and Tanner Bibee, the complaints about letting him walk will disappear rather quickly.