Walker Buehler contract with Red Sox (source)

BOSTON – The Pink Sox continued to bolster their beginning rotation on Monday, agreeing to phrases with veteran right-hander Walker Buehler on a one-year, $21.05 million contract with incentives, a supply advised MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. The deal, which was first reported by Russell Dorsey of Yahoo! Sports activities, has not been confirmed by the membership and is pending a bodily.

A profession Dodger till now, Buehler was final seen closing out the 2024 World Collection with a dirty ninth inning at Yankee Stadium, ceaselessly etching his identify in Los Angeles baseball lore.

Entrusted with a one-run lead in Sport 5, Buehler got here on within the ninth and dispatched all three batters he confronted, capping the efficiency with a nasty pitch to strike out Alex Verdugo.

The common season, nonetheless, was a tricky one for Buehler. After lacking practically two years because of his second Tommy John surgical procedure in August 2021, Buehler struggled to seem like the pre-injury model of himself for many of 2024. In 75 1/3 innings, he had a career-worst 5.38 ERA, 4.68 anticipated ERA, 18.6 % strikeout fee, 8.1 % stroll fee and 1.91 HR/9 fee. Whereas Buehler’s fastball velocity returned to his 2021-22 degree, the shortage of swing and miss and chases was evident.

What Buehler did in October provides the Pink Sox confidence that there’s nonetheless a stable beginning pitcher there.

Within the postseason, Buehler posted a 3.60 ERA and struck out 13 batters in 4 outings (15 innings), together with a improbable Sport 3 outing within the World Collection (no runs and 5 strikeouts in 5 innings). Two days later, he completed off the Yankees to provide the Dodgers their eighth World Collection title. Buehler additionally earned a World Collection title with the ’20 Dodgers.

A wholesome and productive Buehler would give the Pink Sox a pleasant addition to a rotation that features lately acquired ace Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello.

The Pink Sox also needs to have extra depth within the rotation than they’ve had lately, as Kutter Crawford was a mainstay within the rotation the final two years and Garrett Whitlock, coming off an inner bracing process on his proper elbow, additionally has beginning expertise. Richard Fitts, acquired for Verdugo in December 2023, notched a 1.74 ERA in his first 4 MLB begins on the finish of final season. The Sox additionally added lefty starter Patrick Sandoval in a two-year deal as a free agent, although he possible received’t pitch till someday after the All-Star break as he recovers from Tommy John surgical procedure.

With the Pink Sox additionally searching for methods to deepen their bullpen, it’s doable Crawford might swap to that function if there’s not a beginning spot obtainable. And the membership appears to be leaning towards pitching Whitlock out of the bullpen, a task he has dominated in at occasions. It’s additionally doable Boston would have the ability to maintain Whitlock more healthy in that function.

Given Buehler’s damage historical past and the extent he confirmed (within the common season) as a 30-year-old in 2024, it’s doable we don’t see the height 2018-21 model when he was a two-time All-Star and completed high 10 in Cy Younger Award voting twice. Nevertheless, it’s not inconceivable to suppose that Buehler has a second act as a stable beginning pitcher who can slot into the center of a contending workforce’s rotation, beginning in ’25 for the Pink Sox.

Buehler definitely created a reminiscence towards Boston in Sport 3 of the 2018 World Collection at Dodger Stadium, when he fired seven shutout innings of two-hit ball with no walks and 7 strikeouts. Los Angeles received the epic contest in 18 innings on Max Muncy’s stroll off homer off Nathan Eovaldi. The Pink Sox took the collection in 5 video games.

The Dodgers took Buehler as a first-round choice (twenty fourth total) out of Vanderbilt in 2015. He’s a local of Lexington, Ky.

Buehler has a seven-pitch combine that features a four-seamer, cutter, knuckle curve, sinker, sweeper, changeup and slider. The primary three pitches listed from that arsenal are those he goes to most frequently.