HOUSTON — Already saddled with ineffective starting pitching, the Boston Red Sox revealed on Wednesday that right-hander Clay Buchholz will be sidelined indefinitely after undergoing a platelet-rich plasma injection in his bothersome right elbow.
Buchholz had been the Red Sox’s most effective starter. But he landed on the 15-day disabled list on July 11 with a right elbow flexor strain and initially balked at the PRP procedure. But a recent reexamination revealed the same diagnosis and Buchholz, who had been playing catch as part of his rehab, conceded to the injection.
“There’s going to be a little bit of a shutdown time now as a result, which is consistent with a PRP injection,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. “The total time with that is yet to be determined.”
The Red Sox are scrambling with their rotation, having recalled right-hander Joe Kelly from Triple A Pawtucket to start on Wednesday night after optioning left-hander Brian Johnson, who made his major league debut on Tuesday night, to Pawtucket. Not one member of the Red Sox’s current rotation has even a league-average adjusted ERA, and Boston remains short a starter heading into its weekend series against Detroit.
Left-hander Wade Miley will start the series finale against the Astros on Thursday night followed by right-hander Rick Porcello and lefty Eduardo Rodriguez against the Tigers on Friday and Saturday.