Former Los Angeles Dodgers player Walker Buehler signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres in February at a point where his career was in jeopardy.
Buehler, now a 31-year-old, was a former top Dodgers prospect whom the organization held onto despite trade rumors.
LA developed him and believed in him, and early on in his career, it looked like he was going to possibly be the heir to Clayton Kershaw’s throne as the Dodgers next ace.
However, after suffering a devastating elbow injury that led to Tommy John surgery, Buehler lost a good deal of velocity and stuff, resulting in an overall drop-off in his pitching.
Why did Walker Buehler leave the Dodgers?
He still managed to deliver some clutch outs for the Dodgers in the 2024 World Series, getting the final outs for what would become an eventual two-peat.
In the offseason following the 2024 season, the Dodgers did not extend a qualifying offer to Buehler, which would have been for one year and $21.05 million.
Both parties tried to work out a deal in the end, but no agreement was reached, leaving the pitcher to find a new home.
He eventually signed a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox for essentially the amount of his qualifying offer, which was $1 million more than the Dodgers ultimately offered him.
“I just thought we were at a point where we would have conversations on the phone and not through agents if that was the thing. I hold no ill will about it,” Buehler said to The San Diego Tribune.
“I got to go and experience a lot last year and play for two great organizations, and now end up here. I would love to be a guy that played for an organization his whole career and all that stuff, but I think given the way (the Dodgers) are spending money and the way they’re doing things, honestly, I wasn’t in a spot competitively to think that I would make a team or for sure have the role that I had always had.
“I think at the end of the day, it was just kind of time for me to move on. I can’t say that watching them win a World Series last year was the easiest thing for me, but personally, I’ve grown a lot in the past few years just because things haven’t been as easy as they always had been. I think I probably wouldn’t change a thing.”
He was eventually designated for assignment after posting a 5.45 ERA with the Red Sox, was picked up by the Philadelphia Phillies, where he made two starts and a relief appearance at the end of the season, but did not play beyond that and did not see action in the postseason.
How has Walker Buehler done with the Padres?
Buehler has been a total revelation with the Padres, who really needed some rotation depth after facing budget issues.
He has a 3.96 ERA, an even better 3.28 FIP, and racked up 1.6 fWAR. He has cut his home run rate almost in half, increased his ground-ball rate and strikeout rate, and cut his walk rate.
Everything is looking up for Buehler, but the righty is still far from what he was during his peak as a Dodger.
Still, he is doing well enough to secure a major league future and is proving that he can still deliver in a rotation without the great stuff he had before.
Rather than push for strikeouts, he is focusing on keeping balls down and walking fewer hitters, the easiest path to success.
On Friday, he will face off against his former Dodgers team, which will certainly feel “a little weird,” but given his fiery style of pitching and competing, it will be a moment he wants to take hold of.
