PHILADELPHIA — A year ago, as a Los Angeles Dodger, Walker Buehler struggled through the regular season after missing nearly two years due to arm surgery, then surged down the stretch and was a valuable part of the Dodgers’ World Series team.
He hopes this fall plays out similarly in Philadelphia.
Buehler will make his Phillies debut Friday against Kansas City. He spoke to reporters Thursday for the first time since signing on Aug. 31, having been released by the Boston Red Sox.
“The delivery stuff is really different,” Buehler said in comparing 2024 to 2025. “I think, very similar in the fact that I was (bad) all year and then trying to figure it out at the end. And it is what it is. If I can put together four or five good starts, we’ll be in a good spot.”
Buehler will wear No. 31. He wore 0 with the Red Sox, a number no Phillie has worn since Rick White (as 00) in 2006 and Al Oliver as a single 0 in 1984. Garret Stubbs is the owner of No. 21, Buehler’s number for most of his Los Angeles tenure.
Buehler recorded the final out of the 2024 World Series for the Dodgers. He signed a one-year, $21 million deal in Boston that didn’t work out, Buehler struggling to the tune of a 7-7 record and 5.45 ERA in 112 innings.
Buehler sought a chance to first get his stuff right, and second, to join a contender. He knows Phillies pitching coach Caleb Cotham from their shared past with Vanderbilt.
When the Phillies reached out to him with not just President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski but also Cotham and manager Rob Thomson, it made them the best option of the handful that had kicked the tires on him.
“The effort of this organization to have the GM, the manager and the pitching coach on that phone call, I think was huge,” Buehler said. “I think a lot of the times, the DFA process is done over the phone between an agent and one guy in the org. So for us to have a phone call at all, and for those guys to take time out of their day to be on it was huge. It’s a big confidence boost for me.”
Buehler added that, “we had some conversations in the offseason about me potentially coming here” without reaching a deal. Buehler had spent his first seven years with the Dodgers, who drafted him in the first round of the 2015 draft.
Buehler made one start in Lehigh Valley, striking out five and allowing two runs (one earned) and five hits in three innings. Buehler assented to that tune-up assignment as part of a minor league deal, a way to work through some mechanical adjustments.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve punched out more guys than I threw innings, so that was a positive thing,” he said. “… I felt pretty encouraged. I felt like, in terms of the mechanics stuff that we’ve been working on, we were able to stay in that pretty good.”
If the two-time All-Star can reclaim a little of what he once was, as in a 16-4 season with a 2.47 ERA in 2021, he could help a staff trying to close out a second straight National League East title.
Buehler sees this season as still part of his rehab process from a second Tommy John surgery and flexor tendon repair on Aug. 23, 2022. He was back in the majors last year on May 6, going 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA in 75.1 innings.
But two of his best starts came in the last three outings of the season. He started Game 3 of the NLDS and got rocked by the Padres, allowing six runs and seven hits in five innings. But the Dodgers pulled out that series, and Buehler rebounded. He tossed four scoreless innings in Game 3 of the NLCS at Citi Field, then five innings of two-hit ball at Yankee Stadium in Game 3 of the World Series.
With a chance to end the series in five and the Dodgers having cycled through six relievers — including seven outs from ostensible closer Blake Treinen — Buehler closed out a 7-6 win in Game 5 with a scoreless ninth.
“He’s got to be pitching well,” Thomson said of the value of Buehler’s playoff appearance. “But the fact that he does like the spotlight — it doesn’t bother him anyway — and he’s been there before, that’s a bonus.”
The plan is for Buehler to enter a six-man rotation with 15 games left. It’ll spell a staff that has done the heavy lifting since Zack Wheeler went on the injured list for the rest of the season with thoracic outlet syndrome. And it’ll give Buehler a chance to audition for a place on the playoff roster.
“The talent is immense,” Buehler said. “The culture is really good. I think you have a lot of guys pulling on the same string. And in my experience, it’s a big part of it. I think culture is a big part of it. I think you have a lot of guys on this team that are very comfortable with their career and their role in terms of whatever I need to do to help us win one, I will do, which isn’t always the case. Not every team is like that.”
