Dodgers News: Walker Buehler Didn’t Consider Coming Back as Reliever This Year
The hope for most Dodgers fans was that injured starting pitcher Walker Buehler would return at some point this season. He underwent Tommy John Surgery last year and has been working his way back.
There was some optimism that Buehler could return in September, but that was shut down recently. The team decided that it was better for him to fully recover during this season and the offseason, to get back completely next year.
Buehler recently opened up about the decision and made it clear that his coming back as anything other than a starting pitcher was never a real option.
“Have you seen my numbers as a reliever?” said Buehler, who has an 11.32 ERA in nine career relief appearances (10? innings) but hasn’t tried the role since 2018. “I don’t think that’s something that I can really do at the level the guys we have can do, to be honest with you, regardless of my health.”
Per The OC Register
He was able to make one rehab start, going two innings and striking out two batters. After the start, it signaled that he could really make a return to the big-league club, and while he could have helped this team in the postseason, it wasn’t meant to be.
However, it’s not all lost, because it was a major step forward for Buehler. Now, he can enter the offseason knowing that he gave it his all, and his not pitching wasn’t because of a setback in the recovery process.
“I checked a lot of the boxes that I wanted to,” Buehler said. “We talked about Sept. 1 and all of that stuff and in a lot of ways, I got to compete and go out and do it pretty quickly. And I’m pretty proud of that.”
Per The OC Register
It’ll be great to get Buehler back into the LA rotation next season. He has established himself as one of the best pitchers in the game when he’s been healthy. He has also been one of the better, and most trusted postseason pitchers since his arrival in Los Angeles.
Buehler getting a full offseason to recover should be a good thing. It will give him a chance to do everything that he needs to in order to get back to normal.
“I think the idea of a normal offseason will be a little different, right?” Buehler said. “I mean, I’ve had three elbow surgeries and it’s just trying to manage that. But as normal as I can have (an offseason) it’ll be great. My wife and I are having our first kid this offseason. We have a lot going on and I’m excited about all of that.”
Per The OC Register
The Dodgers are banking on him returning to his dominant self next season. If he can do that, LA will be in a good spot going forward.
Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
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