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Kansas City Royals: Clay Buchholz interesting addition to Royals

By Leigh Oleszczak

PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 11: Starting pitcher Clay Buchholz #21 of the Philadelphia Phillies delivers a pitch in the first inning against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park on April 11, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 11: Starting pitcher Clay Buchholz #21 of the Philadelphia Phillies delivers a pitch in the first inning against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park on April 11, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images) /
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The Kansas City Royals added Clay Buchholz to a minor league deal earlier this week. He’s a pitcher with a lot of talent, but injuries have plagued his career.

Clay Buchholz is an interesting addition to the 2018 Kansas City Royals. Here’s a pitcher who has all of the potential in the world, but he’s never been able to stay healthy. Many thought Buchholz would be the next great Red Sox pitcher in the majors, but the injury bug put a huge dent in that panning out.

Buchholz has never started 30 games at any point during his 11-year career. The most he started was 29 in 2012 where he had an ERA of 4.56. Injuries have been the reason why Buchholz has never lived up to his potential, but now he has a chance to reinvent himself in Kansas City.

The Royals have been great at taking guys just like Buchholz (promising pitchers who have a knack for injuries) and turning them into studs. Recently, Mike Minor fit that mold, coming to Kansas City in 2016 and becoming the Royals’ best reliever this past season. He then went on to sign a nice contract with the Texas Rangers.

While Buchholz probably won’t begin the season in the big leagues, he’ll be a nice option to have in case of an injury or if someone doesn’t pitch well. All of this is assuming that Buchholz stays healthy, which is something he hasn’t proven he can do throughout his 11-year career.

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When healthy, Buchholz was a tremendous pitcher during his time with the Boston Red Sox. That’s where he spent most of his career, though he had a brief stint with the Phillies in 2017.

Buchholz had two All-Star appearances while with the Red Sox. His first came in 2010 where he started 28 games (the second most in his career) and went 17-7 with a 2.33 ERA. His second All-Star appearance was in 2013, as he notched a record of 12-1 (one loss!) and 1.74 ERA in 16 starts. Boston won the World Series that year for what it’s worth.

When Buchholz is completely healthy, he’s a great pitcher to have on the team. That just has not been the case for him during his storied career. He could end up being a name to watch for during the regular season, but he could also be a player who flames out pretty quickly and we never hear from again.

Whatever happens, I don’t fault the Kansas City Royals for taking a flyer on Clay Buchholz. He’s an affordable option who, if healthy, could be one of the best pitchers on the entire team.

The Royals have made some interesting free agent signings this offseason, but I really like this move. If nothing else, Buchholz can start a few games in the minor leagues and maybe give those younger players some good mentoring sessions.

What do you think of this move?

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