Clay Buchholz Undergoes Surgery To Repair Torn Flexor Tendon, As First Reported By Barstool Sports
I would say this is a tough blow to the Phillies, but A) Clay Buchholz wasn’t pitching well prior to the injury, B) it’s not like the Phillies were contending for a World Series this year, and C) even if they were, they’d be fucked anyway if their World Series hopes depended on Clay Buchholz being healthy in the first place.
They rolled the dice on Buchholz, gave up a minor leaguer of little to no value, and all they had to do was assume his $13.5 million in full. They took a chance, and they missed on this one. The biggest blow is obviously for Buchholz himself, who will be a free agent after this season. Looking at the market this past offseason, had Buchholz gone to Philly and put together a half decent, somewhat reliable season, I’m sure some team would’ve given him a shot on at least a two-year deal.
Now, he’s gonna have to sign a one-year, prove it to me contract at the very least. I’d be surprised if he only fielded minor league offers, but I can’t see him getting more than a one-year deal now because of this.
From the Red Sox side of things, this was a HUGE bullet dodged by Dave Dombrowski. Had Dombrowski kept Buchholz and traded away somebody like Drew Pomeranz, and Pomeranz went on to have the same success that he had in the first half of last season, and the Red Sox had to deal with this Buchholz situation in Boston, then that would look really, really bad for Dombrowski, who would now have the reputation of acquiring damaged goods and also keeping damaged goods. Good call there by DD.
The timetable for return that I’ve heard is three to five months, but I’ve also seen four to six now that the Phillies have officially announced the surgery. Either way, regardless of when, or even if, Buchholz returns in 2017, his focus right now should already be on 2018.