The Red Sox aren’t any closer to getting Clay Buchholz back from the disabled list. In fact, according to Joe McDonald of ESPNBoston.com, the 26-year-old right-hander is scheduled to receive a second opinion from Dr. Craig Brigham in North Carolina this week because his lower back strain isn’t progressing as quickly as originally hoped.
Buchholz hasn’t pitched since leaving a start against the Rays on June 16 and acknowledged today that he didn’t expect to be sidelined for this long.
“Absolutely not,” he said. “It was slowly getting better and then it just sort of stayed the same for a while. I just want to get back on the field as quick as I can. If something’s not working, I want to get somebody else to look at it and try to go a different direction with it and hopefully it won’t take that much longer. That’s what I’m hoping for.”
Buchholz is 6-3 with a 3.48 ERA and 60/31 K/BB ratio across 14 starts this season. Andrew Miller has stepped up admirably during his absence, posting a 3.06 ERA and a 13/7 K/BB ratio over his first three starts since being called up from Triple-A Pawtucket.