Dodgers News: Dave Roberts Split on Severity of Walker Buehler’s Blister

When Walker Buehler hit the injured list on Thursday, the immediate future of the Dodgers became a bit murky. That murkiness worsened when Dustin May exited his start early after taking a line drive off of his left foot on the same night.

During the postgame media availability, Dave Roberts stopped short of saying that the team would not have put Buehler on the IL had the May injury happened before and not after. Understandably, that sounds like something close to roster manipulation, which is something MLB has looked to avoid this season, so he treaded lightly around the question.

Still, a day before May’s injury, Dave still seemed split on how big of a deal Walker’s nagging digit was. Here’s what he told Joe Davis and Orel Hershiser on a recent episode of “Off Air.”

I would say, like all things, somewhere in the middle… it’s a ‘deal.’ So it’s something — it’s not nothing. But just trying to thread the needle, manage him where he still gets that work because you can’t just assume that you shut him down for three weeks and he can start game 1 or game 2 and he’s gonna go 7 or 8. It just doesn’t happen that way.

For the Dodgers to technically lose two starters in one day was a bit of a shock for fans. Moreover, with less than three weeks until postseason play begins — and the first round in October being a near do or die three-game series — the timing couldn’t be much worse.

Importantly, however, Dave confirms that either way Buehler would not be shutting it down. Now the hope is that he can be ready to deal with the blister for the foreseeable future.