Dave Roberts Noncommittal on When Walker Buehler Will Return to Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler is scheduled to make his sixth rehab start and fifth with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday night.
On Monday, manager Dave Roberts was asked if this would be Buehler’s last minor league appearance before returning to the Dodgers.
“We’ll see,” Roberts said. “We’ll see how it goes. I don’t want to put any extra expectation on Walker. Go out there, pitch well, get out of it healthy, and then we’ll make the next move.”
Through five rehab starts, including one Single-A start, Buehler has an earned run average of 4.95 with 19 hits and nine walks in 16.2 innings.
“We just feel if he can get one more with that OKC team, the following week he’ll be ready to pitch for us,” Roberts said on April 26. “Just a consensus that once he gets with us we want to be able to let him run when he gets here.
“I think the one more start for them, once we get him I think he’ll be ready to go and can be used as a regular major-league starter. The fastball’s playing. The command was better, the secondary pitches better. I think we’re in a really good spot with Walker.”
The Dodgers would like to see Buehler pitch deeper into his start on Tuesday. He has pitched into a fifth inning twice, facing one batter in the fifth inning of his most recent outing.
If all goes well, he could be back with the Dodgers in May but Roberts won’t commit to an exact timetable until after the game, at least.
Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
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