Red Sox Moves: Buchholz Back To Bullpen, Vazquez To Pawtucket
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Red Sox made a series of shuffles to their roster over the weekend as the team heads toward the All-Star break. The biggest change was one that had already been made once before: Clay Buchholz will serve a second stint in the bullpen while Sean O'Sullivan will keep his spot in the starting rotation for at least the next week.
Buchholz allowed six runs (three earned) against the Los Angeles Angels in his last start on Saturday, the Red Sox' disastrous 21-2 loss at Fenway Park. He went 0-3 with a 6.14 ERA in three starts since returning to the rotation from his first stint as a reliever, during which he went 1-1 with a 2.89 ERA.
The Red Sox also optioned catcher Christian Vazquez to Triple-A Pawtucket after Monday's win over the Texas Rangers to make room for the returning Ryan Hanigan. Vazquez is batting .226 with a .583 OPS through 176 plate appearances. Sandy Leon, meanwhile, has batted .500 with a 1.331 OPS in 45 plate appearances since June 7, going 4-for-5 on Monday.
"From the performance of Sandy with the combination of organizational depth, we felt like this was the move we needed to make," said manager John Farrell after the game.
O'Sullivan is tabbed to start on Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park, filling out the five-man rotation heading into the All-Star break.