Clay Buchholz Throws From 60 Feet, a Small But ‘Exciting’ Step for Red Sox Righty

BOSTON — Clay Buchholz threw 25 pitches from 60 feet Tuesday at Fenway Park, a small but notable milestone in his recovery from a stress fracture in his back.

Buchholz, out since June, was able to play toss a bit earlier than expected, but that does not mean he is on the fast track.

"You won't see this escalate in a hurry," said manager Terry Francona. "We're going to take this very deliberately. He'll have to pass tests, but the good news is he feels good. We would hate like heck to have him go into the offseason not feeling well."

Buchholz is attempting to get to a point where he can contribute something down the stretch or in the postseason. The chances of that ever involving an actual start are all but gone, but there is always a need for another quality reliever.

The Red Sox will simply cross each bridge when they come to it.

"This is probably not in the grand scheme of things exciting, but it is for us," Francona added. "Obviously, we're going to go slow, deliberate, but the fact that he did so well with his core work is really exciting.

"Whether this turns into him pitching or not, who knows? But it's still exciting in the fact that he's done so well."

For now, Buchholz will continue throwing from 60 feet every other day "for a while," Francona said.