Boston Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz got off to a slow start this season (4.88 ERA in his first six starts), but then showed what he was truly capable of in his next 12 outings (2.20 ERA). Will he be back with the team next year after suffering an elbow injury back in July?
The latest rumors suggest new president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski may not be keen on picking up the right-hander's $13 million team option due to significant health concerns as well as the current state of Boston's starting rotation.
"Ben Cherington probably would have picked up the $13 million option on Buchholz. But will Dombrowski?" asks Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
"Buchholz has been injury-prone throughout his career, and has never pitched 200 innings or made 30 starts in a season. 'If he's out there [in free agency], he gets signed right away as a second-tier bargain-type pitcher. He wouldn't get the $20 mil [but] be around $15 million on a three-year deal,' said an AL general manager."
Cafardo isn't the only one wondering about Buchholz's status with the team beyond this season.
"It has become perhaps the most under-the-radar conversation when it comes to figuring out what to make of Dave Dombrowski's 2016 blueprint: Will the Red Sox pick up Clay Buchholz' option?" adds Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.
"What seemed like a formality a few months ago, thanks to an injured right elbow, now has a growing sense of mystery."
Buchholz hit the DL back on July 11 with a strained flexor muscle in his right elbow and has yet to begin throwing. His final start with the Red Sox may have been his shortened outing against the Yankees when he left in the fourth inning with the injury.
"He feels good enough to throw but we are evaluating him daily to see where he's at," interim manager Torey Lovullo told Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. "We're not going to rush anything he's not ready for."
Dr. James Andrews gave the 31-year-old a platelet-rich plasma injection to expedite the healing process and said it would be four-to-six weeks before Buchholz could resume throwing. It's been four weeks since the treatment and the veteran starter has acknowledged he's running out of time to return this season.
With Cherington gone and Dombrowski in charge of the team's personnel moves, one can only wonder if Buchholz will be back next year. If Dombrowski declines to pick up the pitcher's option, he could use that $13 million toward acquiring one of the top starters hitting free agency. The team has already sunk a lot of money into Rick Porcello ($82 million) and Wade Miley ($19 million), which hasn't exactly shown a return on the investment. Additionally, the rotation needs a veteran leader to help mentor younger starters Eduardo Rodriguez, Henry Owens and Brian Johnson.
At the same time, Buchholz (when healthy) is a bargain at $13 million per season and he has another $13.5 million team option for 2017. Dombrowski has a lot of work to do in his new position and Buchholz's future with the team is perhaps the first thing he'll have to deal with once the season ends.
