PT TOMORROW: NL East—Should PHI already be worried about Buchholz?

Philadelphia Phillies

It’s extremely early, but the offseason acquisition of Clay Buchholz (RHP, PHI) doesn’t look too good at the moment. The 32-year-old was brought in to provide a veteran presence on a young staff and bridge the gap until the youngsters are ready to come up from the minors. However, he had a brutal spring (21.2 IP, 26 H, 16 ER, 10 BB, 16 K) and his first regular season outing didn’t go well (5 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K). A 2-3 mph drop in velocity from 2016 adds to the concern. The Phillies aren’t going to make a knee-jerk move with Buchholz, but this is certainly something to monitor closely in the coming weeks.

After an impressive spring, Nick Pivetta (RHP, PHI) would likely be the top choice to come up from the...

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