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Red Sox Predicted to Quickly Cut Ties With $21 Million All-Star Dud

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jon Conahan | Last updated Jun 21, 2025 6:00 PM ET

No matter how anybody wants to say it, it's been a brutal showing for Walker Buehler of the Boston Red Sox.

Buehler, who was expected to be an excellent signing when the Red Sox grabbed him in the offseason, has posted a 5.95 ERA in his first 59.0 innings with the club. After allowing eight earned runs on Tuesday night, in just 3.1 innings against a below-average Seattle Mariners offense, it's tough to justify keeping him on the roster.

Unless the Red Sox are in a position to contend and believe Buehler would help them achieve that, which isn't the worst argument considering his accomplishments throughout his career, there isn't much of a reason not to move on from him.

Even if they believe they will contend, getting off his contract seems to be the better idea. And according to The Athletic, there's a very good chance that could be the case.

“The underlying numbers are as much of a mess as the top-line numbers for Buehler right now. He's showing the worst stuff of his career, but the velocity has been trending up. Through Monday he has four games in which he's struck out more than a quarter of the hitters he's faced, and then five games in which his strikeout rate is closer to 10 percent. He's struggled with walks and homers, and then he's thrown gems.

“Buehler is most interesting to a team that thinks they have a plan for him – to a team that needs to roll the dice and see if it can't get a playoff starter on the cheap,” The Athletic wrote.

Finding a team that would want to take Buehler could be tough. However, he’s a free agent at the end of the year, so it's possible that a contending team could view him as a rental to hopefully give them some decent innings in the back of the season.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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