Boston Red Sox send Clay Buchholz to bullpen

Clay Buchholz, who has been a starting pitcher throughout his 10 seasons with the Boston Red Sox, has been moved to the bullpen, manager John Farrell announced Friday.

Buchholz, 31, allowed six runs in five innings on Thursday in what was the latest of his poor outings this season. He is 2-5 with a 6.35 ERA in 10 starts, and his strikeout rate of 5.9 per nine innings is the lowest of his career.

Last season, Buchholz was 7-7 with a 3.26 ERA. His best season came in 2013 when he was named to the All-Star squad and went 12-1 with a 1.74 ERA despite missing much of the season with a neck injury.

Now he's likely to work in long relief for the time being. Buchholz has not come out of the bullpen since 2008, when he pitched one game in relief.

Eduardo Rodriguez will take Buchholz's place in the rotation when he comes off the disabled list.