The Los Angeles Dodgers have an All-Star cast of starting pitchers on their 2024 roster. They've just never been close to full strength.
Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May have missed the entire season. Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow have spent significant time on the injured list. Clayton Kershaw missed the first four months of the season. But one pitcher has been more confusing than the rest.
Walker Buehler, who returned to the Dodgers this season after missing one-and-a-half years of big-league action, has been largely ineffective. The two-time All-Star was expected to play a major role in the Dodgers' season, but now he may be left out of the playoff rotation.
To add to the complexity of the situation, Buehler is a free agent at the end of the 2024 season, so every game he pitches could have financial implications. But Buehler doesn't seem too preoccupied by the negotiations he'll be involved in this winter.
Buehler was asked about free agency in a column by Dylan Hernández of the Los Angeles Times, and he doesn't seem too concerned about his chances of landing a high-priced contract.
"I have a six ERA. I'm trying to figure out how to get people out in the major leagues," Buehler said. "Free agency is for talking about when you have a two-five."
Buehler, 30, was once one of baseball's best young pitchers. He was an All-Star in 2019 and 2021, finished top-10 in Cy Young voting twice, and had some memorable playoff performances, especially his seven shutout innings in Game 3 of the 2018 World Series.
However, injuries slowed Buehler's rise, with Tommy John limiting him to 12 starts in 2022 and forcing him to miss all of 2023. After he came back in 2024, a hip issue in June once again landed him on the injured list. He has made 10 starts this season, with a 6.09 ERA.
As Buehler states, the primary concern right now is getting back to the top of his game. But his free agency will be highly intriguing however he finishes the season, considering the peaks he has shown and the injuries that have, at minimum, dented his earning potential.
Regardless of whether Buehler stays with the Dodgers or goes elsewhere, he has the tools to become a productive starting pitcher in the big leagues again. We just don't know when or where we'll see him figure it out.
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