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The news is good for Clay Buchholz. After injuring himself in the first round of pitcher fielding practice two weeks ago, Buchholz seems to be healthy again and ready to start his first game of spring training.
After throwing 37 pitches without pain in a successful simulated game on Saturday, Buchholz returned to the mound for another 40 tosses earlier this morning, throwing to Mike Carp and Mike Napoli. With no pain forthcoming, Buchholz is expected to rejoin the rotation and make his first start of spring on Saturday against the Twins.
Staying healthy has been a bit of a struggle these past couple of years for Clay Buchholz. A back injury knocked him out midway through the 2011 season, and it's widely speculated that the lingering effects of said injury contributed to his disastrous start in 2012.
When healthy, though, Buchholz has established himself as a key component of the Red Sox rotation. From June on, having found his footing, the lanky righty produced a 3.45 ERA in 133 innings of work. With the Red Sox' rotation shaky as is, they could hardly afford an injury to a starting pitcher, particularly something like a hamstring which has a tendency to linger. Luckily, it seems they've dodged that bullet for now, leaving this spring still pleasantly quiet.