Clay Buchholz made his season debut with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday and exceeded expectations.
The veteran righty was recalled by the Diamondbacks to give Zack Greinke an extra day of rest, so he got the ball against the New York Mets on Sunday afternoon. In his outing, he went five innings and allowed just one run on two hits. He also struck out a pair of batters. His lone blemish was a solo home run allowed to young shortstop Amed Rosario. Buchholz earned a no decision for his effort.
The 33-year-old agreed to a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks on May 4 after he was released by the Kansas City Royals. The Royals are rebuilding this season, so they did not have room for a veteran pitcher in Triple-A.
Buchholz’ History
In Arizona, Buchholz hopes to get his career back on track. This is the third organization he has been a part of since leaving the Boston Red Sox after 2016.
Prior to the 2017 season, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies with a year left on his contract. The righty was limited to just two starts there and struggled. After that, he was placed on the 60-day Disabled List and underwent surgery because he tore the flexor tendon in his right arm.
One advantage Buchholz has in the Diamondbacks organization is their familiarity with him. The team’s manager, Torey Lovullo, previously served as the Red Sox bench coach as well as their manager for the final two months of the 2015 season. Their general manager, Mike Hazen, also used to be the Red Sox general manager.
Buchholz spent a decade with the Red Sox from 2017 to 2016 and enjoyed highlights and low points during his tenure. He collected a pair of World Series rings, threw a no-hitter and made two All-Star teams. However, he never made it a full season without taking a trip to the Disabled List. In his final season with the team, he was also demoted to the bullpen for much of the year.
Coming into Sunday, Buchholz was 81-62 with a 4.01 ERA in his MLB career. Now, that mark will be slightly lower.
