Clay Buchholz injury update: Phillies’ starter out 4-6 months
Clay Buchholz becomes the Phillies’ second straight offseason acquisition to require surgery in April.
Phillies starting pitcher Clay Buchholz will miss 4-6 months after electing to undergo surgery for a torn flexor tendon in his throwing arm, per the News Journal’s Meghan Montemurro.
RHP Clay Buchholz had surgery today with Dr. James Andrews to repair a torn flexor tendon in his right forearm. Recovery time: 4-6 months
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) April 18, 2017
The Phillies acquired Buchholz in a December trade in exchange for second base prospect Josh Tobias. The 32-year-old right-hander started in two games prior to his injury, and allowed 10 runs over 7.1 innings.
He joins Charlie Morton as the Phillies second-straight offseason acquisition to be ruled out for an extended period of time. Morton missed the last five months of the 2016 season after appearing in only four games.
Buchholz has failed to put together consecutive 20-start seasons yet in his career, and hasn’t reached 150 innings since the 2014 season.
Zach Eflin, whom the Phillies received in return for Jimmy Rollins in 2014, will start in place of Buchholz on Tuesday night against the New York Mets.
Eflin, 23, has thrown 10 combined shutout innings this season between the Phillies’ Florida State League and Triple-A affiliates.
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Buchholz is set to become a free agent at the season’s end.