Walker Buehler’s Injury Rehab Is Over; Dodgers Pitcher Will Debut Monday vs. Marlins
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler will make his highly anticipated 2024 debut Monday against the Miami Marlins, manager Dave Roberts told reporters Wednesday in Phoenix. Buehler dazzled in his final Triple-A rehabilitation start Tuesday in Oklahoma City, and the Dodgers ostensibly decided they had seen enough.
Buehler’s start against the Salt Lake Bees marked the first time he completed five innings, setting him up to make a full-length start against Miami. His first five rehab starts had been uneven at best, yielding a 4.82 ERA across 16.2 innings. Tuesday, he didn’t walk a batter and struck out seven, and allowed only four hard-hit balls on 75 pitches.
Now, the Dodgers will hand the ball to Buehler under ideal circumstances. Not only has he re-established himself at a lower level of competition, Buehler will make his debut against one of the major leagues’ worst teams. The Marlins awoke Friday with an 8-24 record, better than only the Colorado Rockies among National League clubs.
What version of Buehler will the Dodgers be getting back?
“I think he’s going to still be Walker,” Roberts told reporters in Phoenix after the Dodgers’ game Wednesday. “He’s going to be attacking. But I think that there’s an attacking with his entire repertoire. I think that in years past, it was heavy fastball, heavy cutter where I think that Walker has more weapons. And I think that’s what my hope is, instead of just trying to bully guys.”
The Dodgers have already lined up Gavin Stone, Tyler Glasnow, and James Paxton to start in that sequence this weekend against the Atlanta Braves. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who’s started on five days’ rest each of his last two starts, could do so again next Tuesday. Landon Knack (three starts, 2.81 ERA) capably held down the rotation in the absence of Buehler and Bobby Miller, but he won’t be eligible to rejoin the rotation until May 11 after being optioned to Triple-A.
Regardless, a Dodgers rotation with Buehler is stronger than one without. The 29-year-old right-hander is 46-16 with a 3.02 ERA in his career. His last full healthy season was 2021, when he went 16-4 with a 2.47 ERA and finished fourth in National League Cy Young Award voting.
In 2022, Buehler was 6-3 with a 4.02 ERA when elbow surgery ended his season in June. (In addition to his second Tommy John surgery, Buehler had his right flexor tendon repaired.)
Since then, he’s become a father. The Dodgers have changed over most of their pitching staff around him. Fans will no doubt be eager to see Buehler 2.0 in action, turning an ordinary game against a bad team into a memorable Monday at Dodger Stadium.
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
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