Walker Buehler made his long-awaited return to the Los Angeles Dodgers this season after a nearly two-year hiatus while recovering from a second Tommy John surgery and flexor tendon repair.
The right-hander struggled with inconsistency in eight starts before landing on the 15-day injured list due to right hip inflammation. The move came one day after Buehler took a comeback off his hip during a start against the Colorado Rockies.
Since returning, Buehler has still struggled, but the results and process has been more encouraging.
Manager Dave Roberts still believes Buehler will have an opportunity to be an impact pitcher for the Dodgers down the stretch and in the postseason, via SportsNet LA:
“Very, very. It’s certainly not linear with the comeback. I believe in who he is, I believe in what he’s done. I do believe he has an ability and capability to clean things up, tighten things up to be the guy we need him to be in October.”
The 29-year-old has been frustrated with his performance at times, but felt he was exceeding expectations from a physical standpoint.
As Buehler looks to reinvent himself, he has experimented with positioning on the mound and going away from his four-seam fastball. The changes haven’t yielded positive results, but there is still some time in the season to get back on track.
After his previous start, Buehler believed he was ‘closer’ to his old self than the results indicated. That statement was reinforced by a solid line in his most recent start, when he was tabbed with just two earned runs on five hits over 4.2 innings.
“I mean in general, I think pretty encouraging,” Buehler said. “Obviously, my last start, I kind of talked about feeling more like myself, and tonight, I think it was that, but more. Obviously kind of some weird plays in that game and it happens. It is what it is… But no, I felt a lot better. I’m as encouraged as I’ve been since 2021 probably.”
Where does Walker Buehler stand in Dodgers rotation
Buehler needs to prove himself to keep his spot in the rotation into the postseason, but his spot may also be determined by the health of the pitching staff.
Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Clayton Kershaw are all on the injured list currently. As it stands, Yamamoto is expected to return soon, while the timelines for Glasnow and Kershaw remain a mystery.
Jack Flaherty and Gavin Stone are both ahead of Buehler on the rotation depth chart, but outside of that, the rest of the group could be determined by who is healthy.
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