Dodgers right-hander Walker Buehler underwent Tommy John surgery last August, and recently told reporters that the date he’s targeting for a return to action this season is September 1. While not unheard of, a 12-month recovery timeline from Tommy John surgery is a rare feat for pitchers, particularly those rehabbing from the procedure for a second time, as Buehler is.
Despite the seemingly long odds, Jon Heyman of the New York Post noted yesterday that the possibility remains on the table, with one notable caveat: Buehler’s return to the Dodgers could come out of the bullpen rather than as a member of the starting rotation. If Buehler indeed makes his return later this season as a reliever, it would be a notable change of pace for the 28-year-old righty. 106 of Buehler’s 115 appearances in the majors have come as a starter, and he has come out of the bullpen just once since the start of the 2018 campaign.
In those 10 1/3 innings of work out of the bullpen so far in his career, Buehler has struggled to a 11.32 ERA. Of course, such a small sample that’s over half a decade old at this point matters far less than Buehler’s more recent work, which has been nothing short of dominant. Since the start of the 2018 campaign, Buehler has posted a phenomenal 2.95 ERA that’s 40% better than league average by measure of ERA+ with an equally strong 3.22 FIP in 629 innings of work at the front of the Dodgers’ rotation. The highlight of his career to this point came in 2021, when he made an MLB-leading 33 starts while posting a phenomenal 2.47 ERA (171 ERA+) with a 3.16 FIP that earned him a top-4 finish in Cy Young Award voting.
Whether as a starter or a reliever, a pitcher of Buehler’s caliber would surely be an asset to the Dodgers both down the stretch and as they gear up for a hypothetical playoff run. While the Dodgers have a plethora of viable rotation options, Dustin May, Julio Urias, Michael Grove, and Ryan Pepiot are all currently on the injured list alongside Buehler, and both Noah Syndergaard and Tony Gonsolin have spent time on the shelf previously this season as well. Given the number of options that could be at the club’s disposal, and the number of injuries they’ve suffered already this season, it’s near impossible to predict what LA’s rotation could look like come September, whether Buehler is ready for a return or not.
More from around the West divisions…
- In the same article, Heyman also notes that the Rockies have interest in former Royals president of baseball operations Dayton Moore for a high-ranking front office role, though the club appears to be content with Bill Schmidt as GM. Heyman notes that Moore expressed he hadn’t heard about Colorado’s interest in his services. Nonetheless, it’s notable that the Rockies, a club that has typically been known for hiring within the organization for their front office, would seek the services of an external candidate. Moore was fired by the Royals last season after sixteen years at the helm of the organization, during which he oversaw the club’s 2015 World Series championship. Moore was hired by the Rangers as a senior advisor to the baseball operations department in November.
- Athletics right-hander Paul Blackburn is poised to make his first start of the 2023 campaign sometime next week, as noted by Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. Blackburn started the season on the injured list with a torn fingernail and had the start of his season delayed further by a blister on his pitching hand, but now appears to be close to a return. The 29-year-old Blackburn got his first extended look in the rotation last season, when he posted a solid 3.62 ERA in the first half en route to becoming a 2022 All-Star. Unfortunately, Blackburn would pitch just 14 1/3 innings in the second half, allowing 14 runs in three starts before heading to the IL with finger inflammation. Upon his return to the A’s rotation, Blackburn figures to help steady a group that has featured little certainty beyond JP Sears.
Hangnails, blisters, finger inflammation. The things that count as injuries in MLB.
Rock and roll and cola wars i can’t take it anymore…
I think Blackburn should find a new manicurist. And let’s hope he doesn’t get a pedicure and miss the entire season with a blister, inflammation or a broken nail on his big toe.
Bad idea to get cute with this, get him ready to be in the starting rotation in April 2024
Odd to see that in the same article as a guy going through his second TJ surgery.
There’s injuries and there’s INJURIES…..
Try pitching effectively with a blister or finger inflammation. I’m sure it’s much more difficult at the MLB level than having a catch in the back yard.
After two TJ”s, it might be prudent to shelve Buehler until next season.
Manager Dave Roberts is good at expressing skepticism without outwardly instilling doubt in the player.
Doc’s quote re Buehler in the Los Angeles Times
“It’s hard to bet against this guy, but Sept. 1 is not what I was hearing,” Roberts said before Tuesday night’s game against the Minnesota Twins. “I’m happy he feels that way. That’s a good thing. That’s embedded in Walker, the confidence, so it’s not surprising.”
Yeah, not hard to read between those lines. See you in 2024, Walker.
And what’s with beginning a sentence with numerals? Gawd that’s ugly.
If Buehler is 100 percent healed come September then whats the point of waiting for Spring Training? His arm won’t be 110% in 2024, it would be the same 100% healed. Let the doctors decide when he should be at each interval during the healing process. When he’s ready, let him pitch.
The chances of him being 100% come September are approximately zero percent.
Bueller just hung the approximately zero comment in his locker. He will read it before he pitches his first game in September and he will tear it up after he helps the Dodgers win November 4th.
i wouldn’t bet more on that than I can afford to lose.
Blackburn singing in the shank of the day.
Take your fingernail and get away
It’s okay
You were just waiting to be an former Oakland A.
Moore would be an interesting fit in colorado. He’s built winners in the past on a KC budget (and a speed and defense team in that giant ballpark would be fun) and Monfort has shown plenty of willingness to spend (especially compared to KC) but he’ll need to give Moore room to operate. He strikes me as the type of owner that likes to meddle which isn’t always great even if it is well intentioned.
I think players, and to a degree teams, like to be back by the end of the year so they can set up their off season programs.
That’s a nice benefit. But not one that is significant enough to rush the team ace back into action.
Blackburn is going to heat up the old sunny hot blistering summer hot stove! Feel the Burn, baby!
Failed to mention that 8 of the 9 relief appearances from Buehler came in his first season as a Dodger in 2017 when he clearly wasn’t quite MLB ready yet. The other lone relief appearance was the following year in 2018 when he got shelled for 5 ERs in `1 inning. That game was his first game back in returning from a bruised rib injury. That appearance was 20 days apart from his previous start. All that to say, I think he’ll be fine if he comes in as a reliever as long as he’s healthy. Arguably he can throw even harder as a reliever knowing that he’s not saving anything for the later innings. That said, there could be some hesitation coming back from injury. We’ll see how it shakes out. Probably still a long shot that he pitches in 2023.
Judging from the Dodgers underestimating the time for May to return and then putting him on the 60 day IL a week later, I highly doubt Buehler will make it back in 2023.
It’s a mistake to believe that the Dodgers underestimated anything just because they didn’t tell you. Also, they said at the time that May would miss four weeks at the minimum. Buehler probably won’t be back this year because to pitch this year would require a picture-perfect recovery and an ideal ramp-up to activity, and both are rare.
If they publicly announced something that missed the mark by at least 33%, then they underestimated.
They did not do any such thing.
It was on this site and YOU just mentioned the time frame. 4 weeks and less than a week later it was a minimum of 60 days.
For Walker, a second TJ is brutal, but he’s been through the process and recovery before. He’s in the unique position of understanding what he’s going through, and what he can and can’t do. If anyone can beat the expected timeframe, it’s a guy who knows every step already.
what does any of this mean though? why post this? its word salad nonsense and means nothing at all.