BOSTON — Clay Buchholz will throw a "full-fledged bullpen" session Saturday at Fenway Park, a huge step forward in his road to recovery from a stress fracture in his back.
Buchholz threw 15 pitches off the mound and 15 from just in front of it Thursday in the rain, and came out of it feeling fine. There is no specific timetable for his return, but there may be some serious planning if and when he gets through Saturday’s session without any issues.
"I think we have an obligation to map some things out but it's going to all go on how he feels, how he throws," said manager Terry Francona. "I mean, we don't know. You're talking about a guy that hasn't thrown very much. He gets on the mound and his back feels great, but he still needs to pitch, so we need to take that all into consideration."
Buchholz last pitched in June, when he left a start at Tampa Bay with back pain. In his absence, both the rotation and the bullpen have fallen on hard times. A return, even if for only a few innings late in a game in the final week of the year, could have some value.
Francona has to balance the excitement over such a scenario with his need to make sure he doesn't do anything too outlandish.
"A couple of things we're trying to accomplish," Francona said. "One is, we haven't closed the door on the fact that he might be able to pitch, which is certainly important. The other thing is we want him to go home [this offseason] feeling good about himself. This kid is an important part of not only our present but also our future. I think it's come together well. He's done a good job."
While Buchholz remains on track for a late-season return, Erik Bedard remains stuck in neutral. The left-hander, who had left knee soreness and is now wrestling with a lat strain, has played casual catch each of the last three days. But that’s it.
"He's still to the point where he's just playing catch and it's not the all-out, like getting ready to pitch," Francona said. "So he's still a ways away unfortunately."
The hope was to get Bedard ready in time to pitch one of the two games Monday against Baltimore. John Lackey will throw one half of that doubleheader, but the team will be forced to scramble for a second starter if Bedard is not ready, which seems likely at this point in time.
Alfredo Aceves is one option, as long as he doesn’t have any extended relief outings over the weekend.
