UPDATE (11:37 a.m.): The Red Sox made the move official, announcing they have traded Clay Buchholz to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for minor league second baseman Josh Tobias.
ORIGINAL STORY: Clay Buchholz’s 10-year career with the Boston Red Sox reportedly has come to an end.
The Red Sox traded the right-handed pitcher to the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday, according to multiple reports. Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer was the first to report the news, with FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman and FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal confirming.
According to Gelb, Boston will acquire minor leaguer Josh Tobias in the deal.
The Red Sox picked up the 2017 option on Buchholz’s contract on Nov. 3, leading many to believe he’d be back for his 11th season in Boston. But the team’s trade for left-hander Chris Sale changed everything, giving the Red Sox a surplus of starting pitching entering 2017.
Buchholz bounced in and out of Boston’ rotation amid an up-and-down 2016. He finished the season with an 8-10 record and a 4.78 ERA but pitched well down the stretch, earning a start in Game 3 of the American League Division Series.
The 32-year-old’s 2016 was a microcosm of his decade-long tenure in Boston. He showed flashes of brilliance — a no-hitter in his second major league start, All-Star campaigns in 2010 and 2013 — but also periods of inconsistency and injury. Buchholz has a career 81-61 record with the Red Sox and a 3.96 ERA.
In Tobias, the Sox get a 24-year-old second baseman who finished the 2016 season with Philly’s Advanced Single-A affiliate, the Clearwater Threshers. The 5-foot-9, 195-pound switch hitter hit .291 with nine home runs, 69 RBIs and a .784 OPS in 127 minor league games last season.
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Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
