FORT MYERSClay Buchholz became the first casualty for the Red Sox this spring training as the right-hander walked off the field after suffering a right hamstring strain during pitchers fielding practice Tuesday morning during the first official workout for pitchers and catchers.
It was the first round of PFPs, a little in-between ground ball to first base -- and I used to be pretty athletic and able to do agile stuff, but for the past couple of years I think that proves myself wrong, Buchholz said. But I just felt a little tweak and decided not to push it anymore and come in and get it take a look at it. They said its the best-case scenario as far as if you have to have a hamstring injury its the best one. So its just a mild strain. Ill get some treatment on it the next couple days. They said I shouldnt be out for very long at all."
Buchholz said it could be maybe five days or so before he is able to get back to a normal routine.
Theres no time frame yet, said manager John Farrell. Hes day to day. Hell get reevaluated tomorrow and then well have a better idea on how many days hes going to need treatment.
Mild strain but enough to get him off the field.
Farrell acknowledged it is disappointing to lose a starting a pitcher on the first day of workouts, but remains cautious until the team knows the full extent of Buchholzs injury.
Well its not what we drew up, I know that, Farrell said. Well know more tomorrow in how many days he might miss, how many bullpen sessions he might have to make up. But at this point he wasnt scheduled to make his first appearance until sometime in that day five of the game schedule. So were not going to pin ourselves to any time frame right yet until the training staff gets their hands on him tomorrow when he comes in.
Boston Red Sox
How much this will set Buchholz back remains to be seen.
Time will tell how many days he misses, said Farrell. But in my conversations with him over the offseason, the way he came into camp hes in good shape. Yet when he reached down for a ground ball on the move covering first base he felt the strain and we werent going to take any chances at that point.
Buchholz, 11-8 with a 4.56 ERA last season, spent time on the disabled list in 2010 with a strained left hamstring, which also caused him to miss the All-Star Game that season. In 2011, he made his last start of the season on June 16 because of a stress fracture in his lower back. Last season he missed 18 games while on the DL with a stomach ailment.