Dodgers Top Pitcher Joins the Red Sox on a One-Year Deal.

Dodgers Top Pitcher Joins the Red Sox on a One-Year Deal.

After a rocky return from his second Tommy John surgery, Walker Buehler ended his first year back on a high note, playing a key role in the Dodgers’ World Series win. The veteran right-hander turned his late-season success into a one-year, $21.05 million contract with the Red Sox, according to Russell Dorsey of Yahoo Sports and others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The deal mirrors the qualifying offer the Dodgers declined to extend to Buehler in November, meaning they won’t receive any draft-pick compensation for his move to Boston.

Buehler spent nearly 23 months recovering from his 2022 Tommy John surgery before making his comeback with the Dodgers in May. His season was filled with ups and downs, including a 10-week stint on the injured list due to hip inflammation, all while adjusting his pitching mechanics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walker Buehler’s 2023 season was a mix of struggles and redemption. He finished the regular season with a 5.38 ERA and 4.78 xERA across 16 starts, striking out 64 and walking 28 in 75⅓ innings. His postseason began with a rough patch, allowing six runs in the second inning of Game 3 of the NLDS, though poor defense played a role. He bounced back by pitching three scoreless innings in that game, and then dominated for the rest of the postseason, posting shutout innings in the NLCS and World Series.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In his final two postseason starts, Buehler found his fastball, striking out 11 of 36 batters (30.6%) in four innings against the Mets and five innings against the Yankees. Two days after his World Series start, he closed out Game 5 with a perfect ninth inning, adding two strikeouts and securing his second championship. This performance boosted his career postseason numbers to a 3.04 ERA with 114 strikeouts in 94⅔ innings over 19 games.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buehler, a 2015 first-round draft pick by the Dodgers from Vanderbilt, has a career ERA of 3.27 and a 3.50 FIP, with 754 strikeouts in 713⅔ innings. He was a two-time All-Star and finished fourth in Cy Young voting in 2021. Now, the 30-year-old moves to a new chapter with the Red Sox. His return to Dodger Stadium won’t come unless the Red Sox and Dodgers meet in the 2025 World Series, though Buehler will play the Dodgers at Fenway Park from July 25-27 that season.