Although it may be a bit premature to say for certain, it appears that 27-year-old Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler may be headed for the Injured List.

…or worse.

The Lexington, KY native and Dodgers first-round draft pick in 2015 out of Vanderbilt University left Friday night’s game against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park after the fourth inning for what was described as ‘right elbow discomfort.‘

That ‘or worse‘ thing is that should the 6’-2″ / 185-pound right-hander require Tommy John surgery, it would be for the second time.

“I’ve had Tommy John surgery, so I think it’s a little bit heightened,” Buehler answered when asked what his level of concern is. “It is what it is. That happens in this game. A lot of guys in this clubhouse have dealt with stuff with their elbows. It’s part of this game. I have all the faith in our medical staff and whatnot. But before we kind of dive into that, we need to know what we’re dealing with.”

Two months after being drafted by the Dodgers in 2015, Buehler underwent Tommy John surgery.

As for his abbreviated outing on Friday night, Buehler, who always speaks from straight the heart, was initially pleased with how he felt … until he wasn’t

“I didn’t throw the ball great, but I felt a lot better than I have previously and was kind of encouraged with the way the ball was coming out of my hand, even though I gave up a couple runs there in the second, but it is what it is,” Buehler said, of what may very well have been his final game of the season.

“Certain discomforts you can manage through, where this one tonight, clearly he felt that any more could potentially be damaging,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters after his team’s ugly 7-2 loss to the NL West third-place Giants. “I think that’s more … you have to default to, certainly, a player with Walker’s intelligence and knowing his body.”

In his four innings of work on Friday, Buehler allowed three runs on four hits – including a solo home run – with six strikeouts and no walks before finally acknowledging that something wasn’t right.

It’s no secret that Buehler has had anything but a typical Walker Buehler-type season; in fact, it has been rather shaky. Through his first 12 starts this season, Buehler is 6-3 with a less-than-stellar 4.03 ERA through Friday night’s shortened outing. He does, however, own MLB’s only complete game and the only shutout pitched in 2022.

As every Dodger – and baseball – fan knows, Tommy John surgery generally takes a full season to recover from. The fact that this would be Buehler’s second time under the knife could make his recovery time even longer.

All of this said, absent an MRI and further testing (which is scheduled for Saturday), it is, as noted, a bit premature and pure speculation that Buehler will indeed require a second Tommy John surgery.

“You guys will be the first to know,” a less-than-happy Buehler told reporters postgame.

Stay tuned.

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UPDATE:

On Saturday afternoon the Dodgers placed Buehler on the Injured List for a “right forearm strain” and recalled right-hander Michael Grove.

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