By Andrew Hendriks

Canadian Baseball Network

TORONTO -- On Thursday, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported that the Toronto Blue Jays and free agent righthander Clay Buchholz came to terms on a deal that would see the longtime Red Sox hurler return to the AL East for the first time since 2016.

Buchholz, 34, pitched to an ERA of 2.01 with WHIP of 1.037 across 16 appearances (98 1/3 IP) with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2018, all of which came as a starter prior to being shut down with a flexor strain following a four-inning effort against the Colorado Rockies on September 13.

During his brief run in the desert, the 6-foot-3 product of Nederland, Tex., leaned on a five-pitch mix and posted a respectable groundball percentage of 42.6 while striking out 81 batters and issuing only 22 free passes. He also did an admirable job of avoiding the big fly, allowing just nine home runs across that stretch.

Thorugh parts of 12 MLB seasons, the two-time World Series champ has posted a cumulative ERA of 3.86 to go along with a K9 of 7.0 across 224 appearances.

If fully recovered, Buchholz projects to compete for a rotation spot alongside Aaron Sanchez, Marcus Stroman, Matt Shoemaker, Claton Richard and a handful of rookies including both Ryan Borucki and Sean Reid-Foley this spring.

This Bud’s For you

Also nearing a formal deal with the Blue Jays is veteran reliever Bud Norris, who reportedly inked a minor league pact with the club only hours ahead of the Buchholz news.

In 2018, the 33-year-old reliever appeared in 64 games with the St. Louis Cardinals, posting an overall ERA of 3.59 while notching a career-high 28 saves across 33 chances.

Norris, a righty by trade, was especially effective against left-handed batters during his time with the Red Birds, limiting them to just a .184 batting average with 39 strikeouts over 114 at bats.

Look for him to compete alongside Tim Mayza as Toronto's go-to arms vs. lefties in relief scenarios this spring.

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