Red Sox clear Clay Buchholz to start Friday vs. Yankees

Clay Buchholz missed his scheduled start on Monday due to discomfort in his collarbone, but the Red Sox never seemed all that worried about it in terms of being anything serious. Almost from the beginning, it sounded like he would miss his start, but possibly be back without a full turn of the rotation going through.

Franklin Morales activated, Alfredo Aceves optioned to Pawtucket

Franklin Morales is back in Boston, taking the place of Alfredo Aceves on the Red Sox' roster.

That's just what is happening, as Buchholz is set to open up Boston's series against the Yankees in New York on Friday. That rearranges the rotation once more, so that Buchholz and Jon Lester are back-to-back, with Felix Doubront, Ryan Dempster, and John Lackey following the pair. Alfredo Aceves, who started in Buchholz's place on Monday in what would be a fine facsimile of the latter's performance, is already back in Triple-A Pawtucket awaiting the next call for his services.

Buchholz has been Boston's ace to this point in the season, so, while it could be argued he's moved to the back of the rotation due to injury, you could similarly point out he's now on the schedule ahead of Lester -- it's all about where your bias lies, I guess. That doesn't matter, though: what matters is both of them pitching well enough to be considered that guy for the Red Sox. With an AL-leading 1.73 ERA, 257 ERA+, and what would be a career-best strikeout-to-walk ratio as well as strikeout rate, Buchholz is certainly making the case for that consideration.