According to Ian Browne of MLB.com, the Red Sox don’t expect Clay Buchholz to return before the All-Star break.
“[I’m] probably set back a little bit,” Buchholz said. “I’d rather come back after the All-Star break and be healthy, if that’s the case, unless something happens that what we’re doing is going to make it feel better in the next three or four days and then I could look at pitching when we get back home. I want to make sure I’m ready for August and September.”
Lower back injuries can be very tricky. They’re tempermental and often flair up with the slightest tweak. With pitchers, lower back injuries frequently keep them from following through on their pitches, which causes them to leave balls further up in the zone. When that happens…well, let’s just say it’s not pretty.
Even though Buchholz’s presence in the rotation will be missed, it’s probably in the best interest of the team if he takes an additional week or two to recover. This is an injury that’s lingered on since the end of last season, and will not go away without additional rest. Luckily, the Red Sox have plenty of depth from which they can pull in Tim Wakefield, Alfredo Aceves, and Andrew Miller in the interim; so while not advantageous, it’s not like the dropoff in performance will be drastic.