The previously targeted mid-August return of Clay Buchholz after his "aggressive" rehab is now in serious doubt. WEEI's Alex Speier reports that the Red Sox are sending the right-hander to a back specialist to determine whether he has "structural" bone issues and not a simple muscle strain in his back. Uh-oh.If Theo hadn't already been tracking down a starter in the trade market, he'd better be now. Even though their respective teams have "poo-pooed" trades for Ubaldo Jiminez and James Shields, they are likely still in play. The Red Sox would do well to nab either one of these to bolster the Great Disappearing Starting Rotation.
Remember Opening Day? The featured starters were Beckett, Lester, Buchholz, Dice-K and Lackey. Now, the only sure things are Beckett and Lester (and both golfing buddies have been on the DL recently).
If Boston is going to maintain its supremacy in the AL East, it will need to get a legitimate extra starter—and not just the dregs of a Kevin Slowey.