Aug 8, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Walker Buehler (0) delivers during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

Red Sox-Dodgers Speculation Building Involving Walker Buehler

Originally posted on Boston Red Sox on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Aug 30, 2025 12:00 PM ET

The Boston Red Sox made a pretty surprising decision on Friday.

Boston made the announcement that it is moving on from former All-Star Walker Buehler. The Red Sox cut ties with him after a rough campaign with the club. Buehler appeared in 23 games overall -- including 22 starts -- for Boston and had a 5.45 ERA over that stretch. He recently was demoted to the bullpen and the team ultimately made the decision to move on.

Buehler has had a tough year, but he's still a former All-Star with solid performances in the postseason under his belt. It wouldn't be a shock, by any means, to see a contender give him a chance to see if he can capture lightning in a bottle down the stretch and into the postseason. At this point in the year, you can't really add many players with more pedigree than Buehler.

Who could go after him, though?

Where will Walker Buehler land?

CBS Sports' Matt Snyder suggested the Los Angeles Dodgers as a hypothetical fit.

"Dodgers," Snyder said. "The Dodgers will not be grabbing Buehler with the goal of having him in the postseason rotation. There are four rotation spots for each playoff team. The Dodgers have Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, Clayton Kershaw and Shohei Ohtani from which to pick four. If two of those pitchers get hurt before the playoffs, they'd go with Emmet Sheehan and/or a bullpen game.

"There is a familiarity here, though, with the possibility of Buehler pitching well enough out of the bullpen for a month to carve out a playoff role as a reliever. The chances of a reunion here are higher than zero."

This isn't shocking. In fact, the Dodgers would make a lot of sense for him. Buehler spent the first seven seasons of his big league career in Los Angeles. He won two World Series titles with the Dodgers, including last year. If there ever was a team that could get him back on track, it would be Los Angeles. Plus, the Dodgers have been dealing with pitching injuries all year. A reunion makes too much sense.

This article first appeared on Boston Red Sox on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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