Red Sox make surprising move with Walker Buehler

The Boston Red Sox have made a surprising move with pitcher Walker Buehler.

Boston has released Buehler, the team announced as part of a series of roster moves made on Friday. The move comes a week after the Red Sox demoted Buehler to the bullpen.

Buehler only made one relief appearance for Boston after being demoted. He allowed two runs over 2.1 innings in a 7-2 loss to the rival New York Yankees on Aug. 24. That was his lone relief appearance of the season, as his 22 other appearance all came in starts.

For the season, Buehler has gone 7-7 with a 5.45 ERA and 1.56 WHIP, which is very similar to the numbers he put up last year with the Dodgers when returning from Tommy John surgery. Buehler was 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA and 1.55 WHIP in 16 starts last season, though he shined in the postseason. Buehler concluded the postseason with three straight scoreless appearances over a total of 10 innings.

Buehler’s postseason success coupled with his history with the Dodgers led the Red Sox to sign him to a 1-year, $21 million deal in the offseason. The deal turned out to be a disappointment.

Now we will see whether a team decides to take a chance on Buehler, who would have to be on an MLB roster as of August 31 to be eligible for the postseason.