Why Clay Buchholz might be poised to rejoin Red Sox's rotation

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• published: 17 Jun 2016
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Why Clay Buchholz might be poised to rejoin Red Sox's rotation BOSTON -- Any successful fantasy baseball owner understands the value of streaming starting pitchers based on matchups. It appears the Boston Red Sox might be doing the same thing. Although lefty Roenis Elias was called up to start Friday night against the Seattle Mariners, his stay in the rotation might be short-lived. Asked before the game if the No. 5 spot in the Red Sox's rotation could be fluid, manager John Farrell said "it could very well be." Elias was pitched well in Triple-A, but the decision to recall him "had as much to do with matchups," according to Farrell, who believed the Sox could exploit the Mariners' lefty-leaning lineup. When Elias' turn in the rotation comes around again next Wednesday night, it will be against the Chicago White Sox, who are led by righty-swinging Jose Abreu and Todd Frazier, perhaps making veteran right-hander Clay Buchholz a better option. Buchholz was displaced from the rotation last month after posting a 6.35 ERA in 10 starts. But he tossed three scoreless innings Thursday night against the Baltimore Orioles, featuring his most powerful fastball and best changeup of the season. "It was very encouraging from Clay -- not just the bottom-line numbers, but the stuff," Farrell said. "He was impressive last night. We'll certainly take that into account. We had an opportunity to stretch him out a little bit with three innings. He's not too far removed from a lengthy outing where you'd feel comfortable that, OK, after last night's outing, could you envision him going into the rotation? If that situation presents, he's physically ready for that." Something else to keep in mind: Last season, the notoriously streaky Buchholz ran off a 12-start stretch in which he posted a 2.20 ERA while working primarily with backup catcher Sandy Leon. With Leon back in the big leagues filling in for the injured Ryan Hanigan, the Red Sox could pair him up with Buchholz again. "I think he can be in the starting rotation for our team again," said Leon, who caught Buchholz's three innings Thursday night. "I think he can be great for us, and I think he can help the team." BOSTON -- Shortly after Thursday night's game, struggling left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez walked into Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell's office, the door closing behind him, and proceeded to get tips from Farrell and pitching coach Carl Willis. Foremost among them: Beware of tipping pitches. A problem last year during Rodriguez's otherwise promising rookie season, it appears to have reared its head again for the 24-year-old. Rodriguez altered his delivery to compensate for a spring training injury to his left knee, and in so doing, he might have fallen back into a bad habit of moving his glove in such a way as to let opposing hitters know whether the incoming pitch will be a fastball or a changeup. "Every pitcher has personal habits in their delivery, and with Eddie, there's been different things that have maybe been detected, whether by the opposition, by us," Farrell said. "It's been a little bit of a moving target, but there are some things that are clear that are there that we're continuing to work on. "Just watching the video today, I’m sure there’s some things that can be seen." Rodriguez missed the season's first two months while recovering from the knee injury. In his first start off the disabled list, he allowed two runs on six hits in six walk-free innings. Since then, though, he has given up 14 runs on 18 hits and nine walks in 14 2/3 innings for an 8.59 ERA, a troublesome trend considering the pitching-needy Red Sox were counting on Rodriguez to be at least their third-best starter. But rather than removing Rodriguez from the rotation, as the Red Sox did last month with veteran Clay Buchholz, or optioning him back to Triple-A as they did with struggling right-hander Joe Kelly, the Sox plan to work with Rodriguez to recapture the delivery he used last season. "If you were to compare his delivery these four starts versus the one last year, he went to more of a side-step in that delivery to take some of the stress off the knee," Farrell said. "We are adjusting back to the delivery he used a year ago. The fact he's passed any kind of restrictions in the knee allows him the confidence to get back in that delivery." Rodriguez is scheduled to make his next start Tuesday night against the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park.