The Red Sox claimed reliever Taylor Buchholz off waivers from the Blue Jays, the team announced today. Buchholz had been designated for assignment by the Rockies in September and claimed by Toronto.
Buchholz, 29, tossed 21 1/3 innings in the minors this year and another 12 in the bigs. He had Tommy John surgery in June of '09 after an excellent '08 season for Colorado. He earned $1.055MM in each of the last two seasons and will be arbitration eligible again this winter. The Red Sox will have the opportunity to retain Buchholz for the 2012 season if he pitches well next year.
The claim caused the Blue Jays to fall behind the Athletics for the honor of having the most arbitration eligible players – the A's lead with 11 after claiming Edwin Encarnacion.
Clearly the Red Sox are aiming to have their entire staff named Buchholz.
At least he is consistent at something and that’s a stretch for me to say this.
Good thig they don’t put names on their jerseys
For sure. What will Boston do if current Lowell ML player and decent prospect Seth Schwindenhammer ever makes it to the Big league team?
Well if there are any other Lester’s we’ll take them as well.
There’s Jon Leicester, different spelling, same pronunciation.
Sorry, same spellings only.
there’s also another papelbon in the cubs system…
Decent move, I guess. But if they’re going for two players with the same last name, I’d rather see them find another Youkilis or Ellsbury, just to make things a little more difficult.
maybe the Red Sox could meld the Buchholzs, so that you get one guy named Buchholz Buchholz and another named Clay Taylor. Or Taylor Clay, I really don’t care which.
If they combine them into one Buchholz, he will be named “Claylor.”
My thoughts are this was done solely to help their fanbase learn that the name is spelled “Buchholz.” There is no “K”, no “T”, and the only doubled letter is the “H”…
Before I saw this post, I thought it was spelled B-u-c-c-k-k-h-h-h-o-l-l-t-z-z.
Clay Bucckkhhholltzz.
Looks good to me.
They need to teach the beat writers and columnists, too. Ugh, it drives me absolutely insane.
he will be known simply as CLAYLOR
Hopefully he will return to his 2008 form. He has high upside.
I’m sure the Red Sox now will listen to any team looking to trade for a Bucholz type pitcher.
Good pickup by the Red Hosers… As a Jays fan I was looking forward to this under the radar arm.
Boy I don’t know about you guys but I sure feel better about our bullpen now, wow, what moves Miller and Buchholz. Clearly Theo has a fascination with having pitchers with the same names. I wish he would move to infielders named Gonzales. This is gonna be another bummer off season, at least we have soccer now!!!!
Absolutely!! We all know every MLB transaction is a blockbuster and all the offseason moves are made in November. You tell him!
Might be a dumb question, but is he Clay’s brother? I’ve never heard anyone mention anything about it, but it’s not a very common name so I’d assume they are brothers.
Nope. He is not related to Clay.
They are not related, just so people know. But that is pretty funny. The Sox have done this a few times in the past couple years. Two Javier Lopez’s, Two Ramon Ramirez’s, and while they don’t have the same first name, its just keeping with the yearly tradition. now they will have a new Clay Buchholz jersey to sell with the C. Buchholz on the back, so they probably are hoping to sell a few extra jerseys with this move.
Theo likes to double down..
I actually kfc doubled down once and my heart stopped for 38 seconds.
That thing is not meant to be consumed by any living creature.
Ramon/Pedro Martinez (Although they are related)
don’t forget Miller, Millar and Mueller
I don’t know if this counts, but the Red Sox drafted a guy named Kendrick Perkins, same exact name as a Boston Celtic.
Perkins is actually a pretty high valued HS player. I thought it was funny at first that they drafted Perkins but later learned that he could become a very legit OF prospect
yeah because its one number per last name right?
gotta hand it to Boston, they’re already leading the league in something.
I liked this guy for the Jays. Jays will live.
let the pasta throwing commence!
Interesting that the Jays are letting this guy go after likely losing half their bullpen from last year already.
Fill up bullpen with Rule 5 drafts?
7 available spots on the 40 man… could almost pull that off
Technically they didn’t lose anyone yet as they will prob offer gregg, frasor and downs arbitration
thanks tips, that’s why i put “likely”
is that why you wrote ‘already’ at the end of the sentence too?
“likely losing half their bullpen from last year already.”
nice try though
what exactly are you arguing? do you just like to hear yourself talk? the sentence I wrote is completely true. Do I really need to re-word it for you? Alright here goes:
The Jays are already likely to lose half their bullpen, and they just gave away another piece.
Just because you took the word ‘already’ out of context, doesn’t mean I’m dumb enough to think that Frasor, Gregg, and Downs have all already signed somewhere else. Thanks for the contribution though, champ.
Woah! Chill dude! 🙂
Bullpen pieces are always lying around.
Wouldn’t surprise me if Jays themselves signed a few relievers (not Type A) or pick up some non-tender ones.
Yeah. This is as good of a way as any to fix a wrecked BP. Bucholz had good stuff before the 1 and a half season a go TJ surgery and should by now be fully recoverd, so *should* be back to full groove. Miller they hopefully can get his delivery back to where it was in his UNC days and his velocity back up to 95+, everyone is forgetting that Tazawa will be back by ST from his TJ surgery and he throws mid 90’s, the Sox have really never seen him at full tilt, except for the 1st 2 months when he originally got to the states throwing that hard then he got hurt and was barely throwing 90.
The BP, if they can get 2 of those even fixed should not be that bad and they can stash Tazawa back at AAA even if he needs more time for his recovery.
Miller is the key though, Bard his old UNC pal had some pretty bad things to say about the Fish coaches and what they did to his delivery and for those that watched him, u could see it in his mechanics.. It was awful.. get him back to where he was and he could be dominant hopefully for an inning or 2, just like Bard, they both had the same mechanical problems in the pros, just bard got over his and maybe Bard can help Miller get over his.
Sounds like our boy AA has… other plans for our bullpen. Plans that allow for amusing comments about making it easy for Boston fans to spell their players’ names.
likely “fill up bullpen with Rule 5 drafts” already —- sorry everyone….I couldn’t resist.
likely “fill up bullpen with Rule 5 drafts” already —- sorry everyone….I couldn’t resist.
Perfect guy to replace MDC. Should make close to the same amount of money, and put up similar numbers….. not that that’s saying much.
I think the Red Sox like guys whos names are Buchholz. I was thinking of this before opening the comments and thought it would be funny and people would like it but I can see other people ruined it by already typing things similar to it. Thanks jerks lol.
This is a nothing move. Doesn’t mean much. Boston is likely out to give every affordable reliever that is available a chance to play, and this guy fits the bill. Also fits the bill of “had it once, can he do it again?” which Epstein is so attracted to. I wouldn’t be pumped to see this guy in our day-to-day bullpen, but he might at least get a look in ST, to see if he’s got it. I don’t think this changes the Red Sox bullpen spending plans; its likely they still go out and get at least one proven reliever. It’s just another option.
What makes you think that they will go out to get a proven reliever? That hasn’t been their MO since the early 2000’s.
All kidding aside, I think they want to see if he will sign for less than what he made last year, and if he won’t they will let him walk. Worst case scenario he is a MDC type, who they could try to flip at the deadline, or even cut loose during the season if need be. I’d feel comfortable classifying this as low risk-low reward.
Agreed. Low risk – low reward is a good description. And I do think they’ll at least make a bigger push for a decent reliever this year; there are so many on the market right now that you gotta think they can find someone who is within their bargain price range, and is also pretty dependable. They have fewer on-the-farm options than in previous years, and of course what we currently have hasn’t been great either. It’s just a feeling, and it also depends just how much Boston spends on other FAs (like, if somehow they nab Crawford, I think they’ll worry less about a pricey reliever), but I think its possible we see Epstein sign a “big name” reliever this year. Maybe even Downs.
I don’t see them going after Downs, not with the draft pick associated with it.
As for farm options, Doubront could step into a late inning role behind paps and bard. Of course, he would likely be involved in any big trade that Boston makes this off-season. If they do make a big trade, I would probably agree with you that they would go after a big name, bargain price type late in the off-season.
Also, I just realized how my last post sounded. I meant to ask a serious question, not to attack you. Thanks for being a civil person on here.
If they’re letting VMart and Beltre walk then it’s not going to matter. Besides when Theo fixates on a player he goes all out… then again he hates paying big name FA relievers. My bet is Theo will go after Downs but won’t go into a bidding war if one happens.
Hmm, agreed about Downs as well; I always forget about the draft pick! I do think though, with 20+ free agent relievers, a good number of them who played pretty well last year, that Epstein will make one or two moves that will bring relievers with a little more promise than Buchholz here. I agree Doubront is a good option; I also think that he may likely be used in a trade. Maybe not even a big one; apparently Boston is very willing to put him out there as a trade chip.
If you sign Werth or another top level FA, Downs costs only a 2nd round pick.
Very true. For some reason I have trouble seeing them sign Werth or Crawford though (the only position players I can imagine the Sox thinking is worth the draft pick). The only reliever that I can confidently say would be worth it is Soriano, but he will close somewhere. He was lights out in the AL East.Then again, when the Sox pick up the extra 4 high draft picks from VMart and Beltre, they may be willing to part with a pick for Downs. Who knows, stranger things have happened (signing Scoot as a type A)
I really thought he could have competed for the closers position with the Jays this year. Oh well, good luck to him though.
this has to be the last piece of the puzzle along with casey kelley (overrated) and ellsbury (overrated/garbage) to get rasmus. right sox fans?
Oh look, a troll.
I’ll take garbage that can hit .300 and steal 70 bases in one season, anyday. How about you?
While having a low OBP and playing poor defense at a premium position?
Still, yes. Not perfect maybe, but yes. Besides he’s young enough to still improve those areas.
What is the myth about ellsbury having a low OBP? He had a .355 OBP in 09. That’s higher than league average by 25 points.
It’s not a myth
whats up Randy, no one interested in you team on the board? We’ll let you comment but you have to be nice. If not we may only offer you Cameron straight up!
ok, but give me a window to negotiate with cameron…i think 2 yrs, 16 MM sounds about right………..
Get a life! Rasmus is an overated clubhouse cancer and Ellsbury is the better player of the two! You must be sharing protein shakes with Mark McGuire cuz your emotions are obviously being compromised by your mancrush on Assmus!
Shut up.
lol!
I wonder if he steals laptops too.
Yawns. Umm so how about Carl Crawford ehhh Theo?
You forgot the #historicdepth tag
You mean Historically epic, legendary depth?
Obviously, Theo is going to use him to get AGon. “You said Bucholz, I gave you a Bucholz. You didn’t say which one!”
The Jays did not even give this guy a chance, first bad move by AA
Considering his lifetime stats, and the fact he only threw 2 innings for Toronto this year, isn’t it a bit early to label this as a ‘Bad Move’? He’s a middle relief pitcher, there will be others.
doesnt Jonathan Papelbon have two brothers? i think one plays for tht cubs nt sure tho
Yes, twins. One is in the Cubs system (Jeremy) and the other (Josh) was in the Sox system until 2009. I have no idea what happened to Josh. Jeremy’s been downright awful in the minors. Josh put up decent numbers, but they’re 27 now and he was last seen in AA in 2009.
Yes and actually another good example. The Sox drafted one of his brothers, Josh Papelbon a couple years back. I’m not sure if he is still with the organization though.
Now if only the Mariners got all the Suzuki’s
Mike Stanton on the Marlins is the second Mike Stanton in MLB
Actually he’s the third
really, I only knew of The Marlins and Yankees Mike Stanton. When did this Mike Stanton play?
really, I only knew of The Marlins and Yankees Mike Stanton. When did this Mike Stanton play?
The Sox are trying to fix the pen the right way.
Red Sox fans already have enough difficulty spelling “Buchholz” correctly in the first place so this should be an interesting addition regardless of the playing stature of the aforementioned Buchholz hahaha.
Never mind the fans. What about Francona when filling in the line-up card?
Apparently Clay and Taylor ARE related after all. According to the Globe, “Nick Cafardo asked Clay about it last season and he said the two were distant cousins”