Aside from Jason Bay, Clay Buchholz is the most talked about player on the Red Sox this offseason.  He showed at the end of last season that he is a legit # 3 starter.  As the Herald notes; he is also key to landing some big names:

He is the most marketable, desirable chip the Red Sox have at their disposal, and if they want to acquire anyone on par with Gonzalez and Halladay, they’re probably going to have to include Buchholz

The Red Sox could fill Buchholz's spot with John Lackey and sign Ben Sheets as insurance.  The team needs a big bat right now and Adrian Gonzalez is the best option, but the Sox are going to need to part with Buchholz to get him.

Good, young starting pitchers are hard to find so trading a guy like Buchholz is a very difficult choice.  If the Red Sox choose to keep him they will have a solid starter for years to come but give up any real chance of winning it all next year.  There is no way the Sox win in 2010 by bringing back the same lineup that is one year older.  The Red Sox have guys like Bowden and Tazawa that could become good MLB starters and join the future Red Sox rotation but that is not a given, Clay Buchholz has already arrived.  Which would anger you more: trading Clay Buchholz this offseason or bringing back the same lineup?

Comments (5)

SoxMeRed said:

... All I got to say is HECK NO. Clay Buchholz is Staying or im a Yankee fan, no not really. I would want to see the redsox pump out hella more cash ever before trading the 3 best pitchers we got, 4 if Dice-k kicks butt. Reason the redsox will come in first, 2010. 1. Pitching: our 5 guys will each get 15+ wins. 2. Hitting: Pedroia,Youkilis,Ortiz,Ellsbury and V.Martinez will be back and hit .305+ They all went thru a semi down year and will be back! 3. They will do something they had not since 1946, 100+ wins. 4. Health wont be an issue, its happened to many years now, it will end. Major issues that is.

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November 22, 2009 | url
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Heretic said:

Not so fast Buchholz has shown too much promise (especially in 2009) to trade him now. There's no reason the Red Sox can't spend a little more money to get a good free agent hitter (hopefully Bay) to help us out in 2010. Beckett, Dice-K, Lester, Buchholz and Wake gives us a great rotation (especially with Dice-K not missing most of the year). The big moves should be made for 2011 when those contracts are over (Ortiz for example) and we'll be officially reloading. We had a good season last year despite being swept out of the short series in the playoffs. There's no reason to be hasty. If they could get Roy Halladay without overpaying for him and for 3-4 years (and they planned to still re-sign Beckett) that would be the only smart way to move Buchholz in my view, but that's a long shot.

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November 22, 2009
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shelley1005 said:

	... Matt...you wrote this entry just to punish me in some way, didn't ya? We all know my opinion. NO TRADE CLAY. His value is with the team. Remember when people couldn't believe we didn't trade Lester?? Thought Theo was crazy bananas. Not so much now.... NO TRADE CLAY. and oh yeah...NO TRADE CLAY. That is all.
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November 23, 2009 | url
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Matt O'Donnell said:

	... I used to be the guy with the megaphone yelling "TRADE CLAY NOW!" but I am kind of 50/50 on this one. I would hate to see him traded for a quick fix but getting Halladay for 3 years would sure be great.
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November 23, 2009 | url
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Giraud said:

... I don't think it is necessary to give up Buchholz to get AGon. The Padres have many needs the Sox can fill and Jed Hoyer knows how best to fill them from the Sox ample larder. This may sound heretical, but I would rather give up one of Kelly, Pimental or Westy than give up Buchholz. I'd rather give up Bard and Bowden. I see an advantage to supplementing this roster by keeping the kids and adding Harden/Bedard or Sheets and bringing back Duchscherer to spot start and long relief and cover for injuries.

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November 24, 2009
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