Red Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz is scheduled to undergo an examination in the next few days and could begin a throwing program early next month.
Buchholz has been inching toward this milestone for a little while. Now that the team is back home for an extended period of time, he can meet with medical director Dr. Tom Gill and anyone else that needs to be involved in the decisions going forward.
"We should have some more information soon," manager Terry Francona said. "They want to get him running through Dr. Gill and everyone here in the next couple of days and kind of map out potentially getting him on a throwing program. But we'll see how it goes."
There is no chance Buchholz will throw before Sept. 1, and even when he does, it will just be some simple catch at first. He remains very far from being able to throw off a mound with any degree of aggression.
Buchholz has been on the disabled list for more than two months due to a back injury. It originally was termed a strain, but a stress fracture developed as he attempted to work his way back, although not from any of the work he was doing, team officials said.
A return this season has not been ruled out for Buchholz. The chances of him ever making a start are slim to none, but the door remains open for a relief role at some point.
