Former Dodger Walker Buehler Gets Brutally Honest About Struggles With Red Sox

The lasting memory of Walker Buehler's Los Angeles Dodgers tenure is among among the greatest endings a pitcher could hope for.

It doesn't get much better than trotting out of the bullpen on one day's rest to not only secure one's first-career save, but to hurl the final strike needed (against a former teammate) to be remembered in MLB lore for years to come as a World Series hero.

About two months later, the fanfare came to an abrupt close as Buehler inked a one-year, $21.05 million deal with the Boston Red Sox to start a new chapter of his career.

Buehler is off to an abysmal start, throwing a 6.29 ERA across 13 starts. His ERA+ of 66 ranks him 34 percent below league average.

Although the bullpen is where Buehler cemented his legacy in October, the Red Sox may move him there due to his lack of production in the rotation. The 30-year-old right-hander touched on his worries of potentially being moved.

“Yeah, I think you have to,” he said regarding thinking about losing his spot in the rotation. “At some point, there are 26 guys that are going to help this team hopefully make the playoffs.

“If you’re not one of them, I don’t really think it matters what you’ve done in years past.”

As for if manager Alex Cora believes a shift to the bullpen is necessary, the Red Sox' skipper left his answer open-ended.

“We’ll talk about it,” said Cora.

Something Buehler never lacked in L.A. was accountability. Despite these performances in Boston, the right-hander was the first to point out how his play has impacted the team.

“It’s embarrassing,” Buehler said. “It’s just not who I want to be as a baseball player. Obviously, I’d rather get whacked around than do that.

“Somehow, this year, I’ve managed to do all the negative things you can. I’ll keep working. It’s just tough to let down our team, especially with the first inning that we had.”

Buehler had a pair of All-Star honors and finished top-10 in Cy Young award voting twice in L.A., but there was no doubt that he struggled in 2024, almost two years removed from his second Tommy John surgery.

Regardless of where Buehler will play, there is no doubt in his mind that he can continue performing at the highest level.

"I think I can still pitch in the major leagues.”