Red Sox's Clay Buchholz: Moves out of mop-up role

Buchholz's last two appearances have impressed manager John Farrell, who said the right-hander will used situationally rather than exclusively in a mop-up role, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports. "The way he's thrown the ball of late, yeah," Farrell said. "He's going to throw strikes, he's got a full complement of pitches he uses, even in shorter stints, he's done a good job of that. If the situation arises, depending who is available, he will be called upon... I think he's thrown the ball very good."

Analysis:

Buchholz has pitched better in his last two outings, allowing one run on two hits in three innings, but he's not that far removed from some poor outings. At one point he went 19 days between appearances, so it's hard to see Farrell consistently using him in high-leverage situations. There's a chance that the right-hander becomes a classic "change of scenery" guy as another team could find some interest in the former starter.