Will the Red Sox Trade Clay Buchholz?

On Monday night, Clay Buchholz a talented pitcher for the Boston Red Sox pitched eight innings against the Toronto Blue Jays, holding the majors’ highest scoring club to only one run in a 3-1 win.

Many are beginning to wonder if Buchholz could be traded by Boston to a contender who needs pitching as the playoff deadline approaches.

It is understandable contenders who need another starter would look at Buchholz who in his last nine starts has an ERA of 2.24, in comparison to an ERA of 5.73 through the first seven starts he made

In seven of the past nine starts, he has pitched a minimum of seven innings, and Monday’s game was the third game he has pitched eight innings.

In his past seven consecutive starts, he has not given up a home run, which matches his career high. He has not given up a home run to any right-handed hitter in his last 25 starts that dates back to August of 2014.

However, the speculation of him being traded should end. Buchholz is just 31, he has been as good during his current run as he was the first half of 2013, he is the healthiest he has been in the past two years and the team holds options for the next two seasons at prices that are very friendly to them.

However, it will not. Yes, Buchholz is not a model of dependability over his past eight years with Boston. He has been injured often, sometimes for reason that he cannot explain, but now it all looks to be back together again.

He was hugely successful Monday night. On good days, a pitcher will be happy with two possibly three pitches that work for him. On Monday, Buchholz threw each of the five pitches he uses – cutter, curve, changeup, two-seamer and four-seamer – and all of them for strikes.

His heat averaged 93 mph and he reached just above 94. His high pitch count for any inning was just 12. In the fourth, he set down Toronto’s three best hitters in order on just four pitches.

So if the call were to come into the general manager of the Red Sox would they trade Buchholz? His value will likely never be as high as it is today, but unless another team is so desperate for a pitcher they would give up young, top arms in return the answer should be no.