Walker Buehler to the Red Sox is a Perfect Fit for Both Sides

This is the first offseason in a few years now where the Boston Red Sox have entered with the obvious ambitions of being a World Series contender in 2025.

Coming off a strong season of development, both with their young core on the MLB roster, and on the farm, the Red Sox have been linked to most of the prominent free agents this winter. They were in the mix for Juan Soto, and have been linked to Max Fried, and Alex Bregman as well.

Bregman is still on the market and is a viable possibility for the Red Sox, but all these reports of interest have not amounted to much in real action in free agency. Instead, the Red Sox’s biggest move of the offseason was their trade to acquire Garrett Crochet, bringing a true ace into the fold.

With Crochet and incumbent Tanner Houck, the Red Sox have two young hurlers coming off breakout seasons. While Crochet and Houck look like a formidable top-of-the-rotation duo, the Red Sox still desperately needed a veteran to slot into the middle of the rotation.

After missing on a few of the top free agents so far this offseason, Boston was finally able to reel in their first big fish, signing Walker Buehler to a one-year, $21.05 million deal.

Buehler Signs for Same Amount as the Qualifying Offer

When the financial figures came out on Buehler’s new contract, it was hard to ignore that he signed for the exact amount that free agents were tendered on the qualifying offer this season.

Buehler never received a qualifying offer with the Dodgers, meanwhile, the Red Sox extended one to Nick Pivetta that was not accepted. Now these two sides meet at that exact same figure, with Buehler signing a one-year, $21.05 million pact with the Red Sox.

Russel Dorsey of Yahoo Sports has reported that this deal includes incentives as well.

Considering where Buehler was at the end of the regular season, the idea of him signing this contract a few months later is pretty wild. Buehler pitched to a 5.38 ERA during the regular season across 16 starts and 75 1/3 innings pitched.

Luckily for Buehler, his season did not end in September, and instead he got the fortune of pitching deep into October, where he reminded the baseball world how dominate he can be when he is right.

Buehler is one of a handful of pitchers in MLB history that has earned both a win and a save in the same World Series, having won Game 3 after pitching five scoreless innings, before later clinching Game 5 with a perfect ninth inning to get the final three outs of the World Series.

The Red Sox are banking on Buehler’s ability to rise to the occasion on the biggest stage, but also are expecting a return to form for a pitcher that was once one of the top pitchers in all of baseball.

What Buehler Brings to the Boston Red Sox

Looking past the rocky 2024 season, Buehler heads to Boston with a career 3.27 ERA. Back in 2021, Buehler finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting when he pitched to a 2.47 ERA across 207 2/3 innings pitched. His 171 ERA+ that season led all of Major Leauge Baseball.

Unfortunately for Buehler, he never got a chance to build off that career year, as his 2022 season was cut short due to Tommy John surgery. Buehler would miss all of the 2023 season rehabbing, before finally returning to the mound in 2024.

Last season was clearly a rough one for Buehler to find out who he was post-TJ, while also dealing with a hip injury that cost him a huge chunk in the middle of his season.

Luckily for Buehler, and the Dodgers, he figured it out when it mattered most, helping to win their second World Series title in his seven seasons with the club.

Leaving Los Angeles could not have been easy for Buehler, who was drafted by the Dodgers in the first round back in 2015. The writing was on the wall though after they did not extend him the qualifying offer, before landing Blake Snell to kick off free agency.

While he might have accepted the QO if it had been offered to him, not being encombered by one helped Buehler enjoy a healthy market as one of the more attractive bounce-back candidates teams could bet on in free agency.

The Red Sox do not have to forfeit any draft capital to sign Buehler, and can even extend him a qualifying offer next year if he pitches well enough that he warrants a second year at around the same dollar amount.

If all things go great, Buehler will hit the market again at 31 years old, looking for a long-term deal, and the Red Sox will collect a draft pick if he signs elsewhere.

This makes this deal a slam dunk for Boston, who gets to add a veteran with a great winning pedigree to a young clubhouse that is looking to be a real contender for the first time in years.

Buehler has more playoff starts than the rest of his new teammates combined, and might even have more innings pitched in October than the staff at large. With nearly 100 innings pitched in the postseason, Buehler is exactly the type of battle-tested arm Boston needed.

The upside in the regular season is obviously immense if Buehler can replicate what he just did on the biggest stage, but even if not, he has proven the ability to deliver when it matters most.

Moreover, he now gets to pitch in the Yankees division after beating them in the World Series, giving him the chance to become one of the more hated figures in baseball’s best rivalry next season.

It is hard to beat pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers, but Buehler at least goes to what is expected to be a winning situation and will get the chance to pitch in one of baseball’s most historic ballparks.

How he navigates his season in Fenway is to be seen, although if things break right, Buehler’s bet on himself could pay off handsomely for both him and the Boston Red Sox.