The Red Sox rotation has been banged up at times this season, but Clay Buchholz's back injury is particularly troublesome.
Buchholz, who is on the disabled list with a muscle strain in his lower back, hasn't pitched since June 16, and it doesn't appear as though the right-hander is close to returning anytime soon.
Buchholz hasn't even begun throwing off a mound, as lingering soreness is limiting his ability to do so. At this point, he's been limited to playing catch.
According to The Boston Globe's Peter Abraham, Buchholz played catch at 50 percent on Thursday and Friday, and had a large bag of ice wrapped around his back on Saturday.
The Sox starter said that he's "kind of sore" and that, while his back feels better than it did a week ago, there is no timetable for his return.
"I don't think there's really a timeline. Just from the doctors that I've seen, it's basically going to be a feel thing," he told The Boston Globe. "When it feels all right to go, that's when I'll do it. It's something I don't think I can rush into or try to do more than I can."
Abraham said that once Buchholz is able to return to the mound, it could take as long as three weeks before he's ready to pitch in a major league game, which means he might not return until mid-August at the earliest.
