Epstein: Red Sox Making Sure Buchholz 100% Before Return

BOSTON (CBS) – Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz is eligible to come off the disabled list on Saturday, but it looks like the right-hander will not be activated until after the All-Star break.

Buchholz told reporters his DL stay would last until after the mid-summer classic in two weeks, and GM Theo Epstein confirmed that before the Red Sox 2-1 loss to the Phillies on Wednesday.

"We're going to go slow with this one, make sure he's 100-percent before he's back on the mound," said Epstein.

Buchholz has been on the DL since June 19 with a muscle strain in his back. It was first though he would only be on for the original 15-days, but it appears it is taking a little longer to heal and the Red Sox do not want to rush him back.

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"He only feels it at a certain point in his delivery," Epstein said of the strain. "This is something we have to knock out. Even if he feels like it's almost all the way gone, not to push it until it's all the way gone. The fact that it's muscle related means time is what's necessary to have it heal."

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Buchholz was 6-3 with a 3.48 ERA when he went down with the injury. He was pulled from his June 16 start against the Tampa Bay Ray in the sixth inning with back problems and placed on the DL three days later.

Left-hander Andrew Miller took Buchholz' roster spot, and has gone 1-0 with a 3.09 ERA in two starts.