Dodgers: Dave Roberts Addresses Walker Buehler’s Status, Ability to Return This Season

One of the biggest storylines for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season is the potential late season return of star RHP Walker Buehler. The hard-throwing righty went down with an injury early in 2022, and suffered setback after setback until he finally had to undergo his second career Tommy John Surgery.

We didn’t know if Buehler would be able to return this season at all, but earlier in the offseason, Dave Roberts did say he expects Buehler to return sometime in September.

However, on Thursday at Camelback Ranch, Roberts seemed to be slightly less optimistic.

“I’m hopeful,” Roberts said about a potential Buehler return this season. “I know Walker is and if it doesn’t happen it doesn’t, but I think that’s what people are expecting anyways. But with Walker, man, he’s a special athlete. … We’ll know more as time goes on.”

That’s not exactly promising, especially considering how confident he was with the September timeline earlier in the year. I don’t know if this means Buehler suffered a setback, or if Roberts was just too quick to talk about the return earlier in the offseason. But either way, it doesn’t spell good news for a potential return.

If he is able to return, however, it would likely have to be in a relief role. Roberts was asked about that, too.

“Having Walker healthy is valuable in any sense. So I don’t know what that looks like right now.”

Hopefully Buehler continues to get healthier, because he’s someone that could make a huge impact come postseason time, no matter what role he’s in.

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