The Los Angeles Dodgers poured significant resources into their rotation before the 2025 season, adding Cy Young winner Blake Snell and premier international free agent Roki Sasaki to an already dominant pitching staff.
One notable omission from those plans, however, was Walker Buehler.
Buehler hit free agency after the 2024 season, declining the Dodgers’ offer in hopes of finding a fresh opportunity elsewhere. The right-hander had spent his first seven MLB seasons in Los Angeles, winning titles in 2020 and 2024.
During his time with the Dodgers, Buehler posted a 3.27 ERA across 132 appearances and earned two All-Star selections.
But after departing the organization, the veteran struggled to replicate that success. He opened the 2025 season with the Boston Red Sox, making 23 starts but recording a 5.45 ERA over 112.1 innings before being released in late August. The Philadelphia Phillies signed him shortly after, and he delivered solid performances in his three outings with them.
He allowed just one run in 13.2 innings for the Phillies, equating to a 0.66 ERA. He didn’t feature for the Phillies in the postseason, as they lost their opening series in October to the Dodgers.
Buehler is once again a free agent, and Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter believes he’s going to return to LA — but not for the Dodgers.
The Los Angeles Angels had another losing season in 2025, only really being able to brag about their season sweep over the Dodgers. Their pitching over the course of the season massively underperformed, and they had the third-worst ERA in baseball in 2025.
They lost two key pieces of their rotation to free agency, and could still look for more pieces to fill out their rotation after shipping out outfielder Taylor Ward for right-hander Grayson Rodriguez of the Baltimore Orioles.
Buehler isn’t likely to get many offers over some of the other top pitchers in the free agency class, so re-establishing his value with one-year deal a less competitive team could be the best move for his career.
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