December 24th, 2024 at 10:03 am 
by Ron Cervenka It would be criminal to overlook what (now) 30-year-old right-hander Walker Buehler accomplished during his seven seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team that drafted him in the first round in 2015 out of Vanderbilt University. Those accomplishments include two All-Star selections and two World Series rings, the second of which a direct result of his epic off-the-bench performance in Game-5 of the 2024 World Series in which he retired all three New York Yankees batters he faced – in order – in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Dodgers their World Series-clinching 7-6 win.
(Jayne Kamin-Oncea)
Unfortunately – at least for Walker Buehler fans – Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman, the man considered by many to be the best in the business, elected not to extend a one-year / $21.05 million qualifying offer to the extremely popular Lexington, KY native.
…but the Boston Red Sox did.
On Monday, news broke that the Red Sox had matched that Dodgers one-year / $21.05 million qualifying offer to Buehler (plus potential performance incentives), which he and his agents at Excel Sports Management quickly jumped on.
Although this is heartbreaking news for many Buehler fans, putting emotions aside, this could very well end up being among Friedman’s best decisions in his 10 seasons at the Dodgers drawing board. It could also end up being among his worst.
How so, you ask? A valid and legit question.
Despite his 2024 World Series heroics, after returning to action following his second Tommy John surgery in August of 2021, the one-time potential future Hall of Famer posted a career-worst 5.38 ERA, an unattractive 18.6 percent strikeout rate, an equally unattractive 8.1 percent walk rate, and a horrible 1.91 Home Run per nine (HR/9) rate over his 75.1 innings of work in 2024. And even though Buehler and the Dodgers repeatedly insisted that he is now 100 percent healed and 100 percent healthy, it’s tough not to say (or at least think): “For how long this time?”
All of this said, and despite the sour taste that Friedman’s decision may have left in the mouths of Buehler fans, it’s impossible not to wish the very best for Walker with the Red Sox in 2025 – and hopefully beyond.
Play Ball!
* * * * * *
Posted in 
Sad to see Buehler leaving the Dodgers.
47-22 W-L, 3.27 ERA, 713.2 IP, 754 SO, 12.2 WAR.
Any true Dodgers fan will be sorry to see Walker go and will wish him nothing but the best in the future. We all truly wish he’d not needed a 2nd TJ surgery which probably derailed his path to the Hall of Fame.
Best wishes to Buehler. Being a RH pitcher on the Dodgers roster was a disadvantage to him returning — just too many talented righties on the 40 man roster and almost ready in the minors.
Holiday Greetings to all the faithful Dodger Blue! I have not commented in a while, but I have given this off season some thought. For a second, let’s pretend that the front office did nothing this off season. In my humble opinion, starting pitching was the main issue coming out of the WS. In a way, it was kind of magical that with only Yamamoto, Jumpin Jack, and Bueller, the team became world champions. So, let’s start from there. Yamamoto will be back, Glasnow will be back, and from there it gets a little unclear. I know we have almost no southpaws; area of concern. I know Shohei will not pitch for a while; area of concern. So what if we would have signed Walker for $21mm for a year? That is taking a chance, but that would be 3 starters. Then add Gonsolin as a 4th, also taking a chance, that would make 4. Then See what Bobby Miller can come back with, taking a big chance, that would make 5. If Miller somehow did not work out, or any of the other two for that matter, you would buy some time for Shohei and Kershaw to return. In the perfect world we would get Sasaki to round out the staff at 6. Now all you have spent and committed to is one year of Bueller plus it would give us a chance to see who is ready for MLB from the farm. I did not even mention Dustin May, who I think would be a much better RP than he has been as a starter, mainly because of durability. That gives the rotation this look: Yamamoto, Glasnow, Bueller, Gonsolin, Miller, Sasaki (hopefully), with Shohei and Kershaw in the wings. Next is the bullpen, which re-signing Treinen was great, having Kopech, Vesia and Phillips as the front 4, with Banda and Brasier, followed by Enriquez who I think is going to be really good, and I also like Casparius who I really like as well. Still lacking southpaws all the way around, but I think this would be a good if not great pitching staff.
Next is the Teoscar dilemma. Not signing him is a travesty, but look at the options. I like Dalton Rushing in Left against righty’s and maybe Taylor against lefty’s. Center would be Edman all the way, then right would be Pages and Outman on a lefty/righty split. Infield is Freddie, Lux/Rojas, Mookie at short, and Muncy. Smith/Barnes catching. I prefer Edman at short and put Mookie back in right, but I am not privy to what Mookie wants. That adds up to 12 players and Shohei as a two way, which might allow us to bring back Kike as a back up for everybody or the split in left field.
The method to this madness? Keep the payroll somewhat real, get some of our farm system to see what they can do, and try and win the old fashioned way without buying a stairway to heaven. It also leaves some flexibility to see what we might need at the trade deadline.
All in all, just some thoughts as I have time over the holidays to think about the upcoming season. Who knows, maybe the price of a ticket might even go down with a lower payroll………………..
Don’t forget Snell.
I took his comments as Dodgers without making any deals
A lot to chew on, some of it is pretty tough to digest.
Replacing Buehler, Flaherty, Hudson, Graterol, Ryan, Sheehan, Stone, Treinen, and Kershaw for at least first half of season would place a huge load on guys coming back from significant injuries/surgeries (Gonsolin and May) and youngsters Casparius, Knack, and Wrobleski without much left in reserve at OKC.
Losing both Hernandez players would also be difficult, requiring almost everyone to be injury free in 2025.
Count me in on Rushing in the OF, Edman in CF (reluctantly as I think team is better with him at SS), Pages and Outman platoon could work as long as Outman can return to, or better, his 2023 stats.
I’m still hoping for a full time CF’er who frees Edman to SS, Mookie to 2b, and team uses Lux as trade capital.
I realize that it may not be what most Dodgers fans want, but to be brutally honest, the Dodgers can’t get rid of Lux soon enough.
Fire away…
It may be that Lux needs a different type of hitting coach to bring out his talent. He is so frustrating, at times showing his talent and athleticism then going into long funks when he is hurting the team.
Definitely a lot to digest and not reality. Reality is that we dished out a ton of money for Snell, which, he is great, but another $100 million in payroll Tax? I teach economics at a local university and it creates a crazy world paying that much for team payroll. Nonetheless, it is what it is. Also, is Treinen out for the beginning of the season?
Now for reality; I would love to get a great defensive CF that hits well enough, does not have to be a superstar, but a fill the role kind of guy. Mookie is a true 2nd baseman, Edman a great SS (we all saw the great dive in the 6th inning of game 1 that saved a run and ultimately led to Freddie’s shot heard round the Universe (not just the world)). Agree with Ron’s brutal honesty about Lux. And agree with Jesse about Lux, he is a dichotomy; sometimes great and sometimes soooo frustrating. So back to reality. Conforto in left, Edman in center, Pages/Outman in right. If Lux were dealt, then we would need a CF or a SS (Miggy is a great defender, but father time is catching up). Or, Conforto in right, Rushing/Taylor in left, and Pages/Outman in center. But if Outman can regain the confidence he had in 2023, he could play center with Taylor as a back up against lefties. Bunches of question marks, which makes prepping for the season fun……….thanks for your thoughts guys and Happy New Year!
Well, having said all that I just read that they re-Signed TeOscar For three years. Not sure what they’re gonna do with Rushing now. I hope he is not traded.
I think Rushing has been elevated to untouchable in trade since he can play catcher, LF, and first base