Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz to visit Dr. James Andrews for second opinion

Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz has been on the DL for more than a month with a shoulder/trap injury. (Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) Boston Red Sox pitcher Clay

Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz has been on the DL for more than a month with a shoulder/trap injury. (Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

Boston Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz plans to visit to Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion on his shoulder/trap injury, according to WEEI.com's Rob Bradford.

Buchholz has been on the disabled list since June 18 (retroactive to June 9) after getting off to a 9-0 start to the season with a 1.71 ERA in 84.1 innings.

Though the 28-year-old said plans have not been finalized, his agent, John Courtright, first suggested that he see Andrews, and the Red Sox appear to support the idea, according to the report.

Buchholz threw off flat ground on Saturday, but has not been able to pitch from a mound without feeling discomfort.

From the report:

“Obviously I don’t really know why it’s taking as long as it is. That’s definitely part of it, for me at least,” said Buchholz regarding seeking a sense of closure thanks to Dr. Andrews’ diagnosis. “Obviously knowing the MRIs and all things I’ve done, they show there’s nothing going on in there. But there’s something going because it doesn’t feel right. Just knowing exactly what is going on will probably help out a lot.”

...

“He’s been doing it for a long time. He wouldn’t be spoken as highly of as everybody does speak of him if he wasn’t one of the best in the world,” the pitcher said. “You know what you’re dealing with.”

Buchholz has struggled with injuries throughout his career, topping 100 major-league innings just twice since his rookie 2008 season.

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