Clay Buchholz will throw in an instructional league game in Fort Myers, Fla., before possibly returning to pitch in a major league game Wednesday in Baltimore, Red Sox manager Terry Francona told reporters Sunday at Yankee Stadium.
Francona said Buchholz will pitch Monday in Florida. If the right-hander feels OK, he'll return to get some action in the regular-season finale.
Since Buchholz began his road to recovery from a stress fracture in his back, there were two goals. One was to try to get him back to help out the team, but it was never going to be at the expense of the other, which is to send Buchholz into the offseason on a good note.
"We have said all along that he may not pitch for us," Francona said. "This is just another step in him attempting to do this. … We don't know where this is going yet. The most important thing is that Buch goes home healthy, and he's doing a terrific job of that. If it leads to more, that would be tremendous."
Buchholz last pitched in a game June 16 at Tampa Bay. He left that start after five innings with back soreness. The stress fracture was discovered more than a month later during his attempt to come back.
The 27-year-old has indicated throughout the process that his goal is to help the team if and when it makes the postseason.
