Walker Buehler is set to pitch in a different jersey for the first time in his MLB career after the Los Angeles Dodgers’ free agent agreed to a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox.
Buehler was in an interesting position in free agency after reaching the highest peak and the lowest depths during the 2024 season.
Instead of signing a mega-contract he was once predicted to receive, Buehler instead settled for one-year at $21.05 million to join the Red Sox.
Buehler is betting on himself and the Red Sox are betting he can get back on track. It’s a prototypical low-risk, high reward deal, and at least on National League executive believes it could be the steal of the offseason, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com:
“If Buehler can stay healthy, he might be the best sign of the winter,” a National League executive said. “He can dominate when he’s right. Plus they didn’t have to give up a pick to sign him.”
Buehler was coming off a second career Tommy John surgery this year, which presents a risk for the Red Sox in its own right. Historically, pitchers who have undergone multiple elbow reconstructions have failed to find success again or have had their careers significantly shortened, and often times both scenarios play out.
There are very few outliers who were able to overcome the odds. Most notably, Nathan Eovaldi was able to re-find himself, while Daniel Hudson was able to succeed in a relief role.
The vast majority of the 2024 season was not promising for Buehler as he posted a 5.38 ERA with just 64 strikeouts over 75.1 innings and allowing a .289 batting average against. Worse than his numbers, Buehler had no command, seemingly lacked confidence at times and pitched with decreased stuff.
In the playoffs, things started to click, and the Red Sox are betting on that being the start of the right-hander fully figuring things out.
Whether the signing works out remains to be seen, but Buehler has the pedigree as one of the top pitchers in baseball, and he’s also one of the most intelligent pitchers who will constantly work to be the best he can.
Walker Buehler had to re-establish his baseline
After almost two years away from the game and a hip injury in 2024, Buehler found himself searching for his foundation as a pitcher. He knew that he needed to get back to basics and build from there to be a competitive MLB pitcher once again.
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