Coming off a season in which he again was slow to find a rhythm and also dealt with blister issues, Walker Buehler adjusted his offseason program and threw more regularly to put himself in better position come Spring Training.
The initial feedback was that adjustment proved beneficial, with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Buehler both noting crispness in bullpen sessions thus far in camp. “So far I feel good about where I’m at,” Buehler recently said.
“Just trying to evolve and figure out what works best for me. So far we’re happy with where I am. I just feel a little bit closer to where I want to be physically. And then I think there’s a mental side of that where you’re not as stressed out about going through this stuff. You can kind of build up and just feel good about where you are and get ready for a season.”
On Friday the right-hander got to further evaluate his progress through live batting practice on a backfield at Camelback Ranch. It entailed facing Mookie Betts, which produced a matchup that both got the better of each other.
#Dodgers Walker Buehler vs. Mookie Betts pic.twitter.com/n7v0n6AxNl
— Juan Toribio (@juanctoribio) February 26, 2021
Teammates, front office types gathered for Buehler’s session. #Dodgers pic.twitter.com/A9Kvys28h7
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) February 26, 2021
Betts won round three, taking Buehler deep. I didn’t get a video of it, but Betts rounding the bases is proof! pic.twitter.com/Dvg29bNoBY
— Juan Toribio (@juanctoribio) February 26, 2021
Outside of Mike Kickham being named the starter for Sunday’s Cactus League opener, the Dodgers have not announced additional pitching plans for the spring. That also applies to Opening Day, which Roberts said the team was still evaluating.
Buehler hopeful blisters no longer an issue
Although Buehler was cautious and avoided another brush with blisters during the offseason, he conceded they might not be a situation that is fully avoided moving forward.
“I think it’s always going to be a wait and see kind of thing,” he said. “I haven’t had any issues with it since last year. In the offseason, tried to make sure nothing rears up, but nothing had ever reared up in my career until it did. We’ll keep an eye on it and be conscious of it, but as of right now I’m not super concerned.”
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