When last we saw Walker Buehler in a Dodgers uniform, on October 30 at Yankee Stadium last fall, he was wrapping up an inning of relief that ended with the Dodgers as World Series champs. When it comes to seeing Buehler in a Dodgers uniform–possibly–it’s hard not to be sentimental.
The Red Sox, who signed Buehler to a $21 million contract this offseason, cut the veteran hurler this week after the team had demoted him from the starting rotation. Buehler was 7-7 with a career-high 5.45 ERA in Boston, and struggled to stay over the plate–his 4.4 walks per nine innings was the most of his career and the prime reason for his Red Sox exit.
The Dodgers do not need Buehler has a starter. But as a potential long reliever? Or, at least, as a good-luck talisman? He could make some sense in that role.
Dodgers Reunion Highlighted
There has been ample speculation of a return to the Dodgers for Buehler. The Red Sox could not use him as a reliever, but it is a role the Dodgers know he can fill. At CBS Sports, that was the driving reason behind Buehler speculation.
The site’s Matt Snyder wrote:
“The Dodgers will not be grabbing Buehler with the goal of having him in the postseason rotation. There are four rotation spots for each playoff team. The Dodgers have Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, Clayton Kershaw and Shohei Ohtani from which to pick four. … There is a familiarity here, though, with the possibility of Buehler pitching well enough out of the bullpen for a month to carve out a playoff role as a reliever.
“The chances of a reunion here are higher than zero.”
Walker Buehler Had Moments in Boston
Buehler had some good moments in Boston, enough for the Red Sox to have kept him around into August despite his difficulty staying over the plate. It was only back on August 8 that he gave Boston 6.0 scoreless innings against the Padres, allowing four hits and two walks with four strikeouts. He was brilliant a month ago in Philadelphia, too, when he held the Phillies to one earned run in 7.0 innings of what became an extra-innings loss.
But Buehler was not able to go deep into games, completing 6.0 innings just eight times in 23 appearances. He walked at least three batters 10 times.
Before losing his rotation spot in Boston, Buehler twice called his performances “embarrassing.”
“What do you think?” said Buehler this month. “To be completely frank with you, we can have these questions as much as we want and I can tell you how hard I’m working and how hard we all are working and all that (expletive). At the end of the day, it’s not going so good.”
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