Dodgers: Andrew Friedman Addresses Walker Buehler’s Slow Ramp-Up Issues

There wasn’t much that went wrong for the Dodgers in the 2020 season. Apart from the obvious pandemic and delays that went along with it, Los Angeles ultimately ended up with a World Series title. It’s difficult to complain about any season that ends with your team hoisting the commissioner’s trophy. 

But Dodgers fans did have one complaint early on in the 60-game season. Most had wondered why Walker Buehler was ot available to pitch immediately, and why he was being limited in his innings pitched early on in the season. 

As it turns out, Buehler got a little bit of a slow start to the Dodgers Summer Camp after the season restarted. Like many players around the league, the uncertainty of the 2020 season resulted in Buehler stopping his throwing program. Andrew Friedman recently addressed that in an interview with The Athletic. 

It’s just different. For almost everybody, it’s different. We have very individualized plans, and we do the best we can with the information we have. Like most things, real-life experience helps us make things better going forward. I think it’s been a learning process, as it is with all of our guys. His is just a little bit more visible. But we feel good with what we’ve learned and how we’re applying it. Again, the fact that we’re dealing with someone that’s this competitive and works this hard makes it easier to feel confident about.

Buehler did not make his 2020 debut until July 28th, 5 days after the season started in Los Angeles. When he was able to start for the Dodgers, Walker was limited to just 56 pitches in his first start of the season. Six days later, he threw 79 pitches en route to getting a little more consistent in games. 

Slow Start Has Dodgers Fans Wondering Why 

The slow start would’ve been easier to understand for Dodgers fans if Walker was injured during that time. But from the sound of it, he just fell behind waiting for MLB to figure out when the season would start. It also didn’t help that Clayton Kershaw had to miss time to start the season with a  back injury. 

Have you subscribed to our YouTube Channel yet? Subscribe and hit that notification bell to stay up to date on all the latest Dodgers news, interviews, live streams, and more!

Dodgers News: Free Agent Reliever Tommy Kahnle Agrees to 2-Year Deal with LA