Dodgers’ Walker Buehler to Make Long-Awaited Return From Tommy John Surgery Monday
Following a nearly two-year absence, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler is preparing to return to the major leagues for a start against the Miami Marlins on Monday.
The 29-year-old hasn’t pitched in a big-league game since June 10th, 2022, his final outing before undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery. It was his second TJ procedure after having his UCL replaced in 2015.
“The plan is Walker’s going to start on Monday,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters following Wednesday’s 8-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. “We’re excited about that. Everything checked out. It’ll be good.”
Buehler made six rehab appearances, five with Triple-A Oklahoma City, recording a 4.15 ERA with 21 strikeouts and nine walks over 21.2 innings. He fanned five across five innings of one-run ball in his final minor-league outing Tuesday.
The right-hander threw 75 pitches, 54 of which were strikes. His velocity was down across the board, particularly on his four-seamer, which averaged 92.9 mph – 2.3 slower than his 2022 season average – and maxed out at 94.3.
After sitting out for most of last year, Buehler attempted to make a late-season comeback while beginning a rehab assignment in September 2023. But those efforts ended after the Dodgers shut him down following a two-inning outing at Triple-A, where he struck out two of his six batters faced.
Not only has Buehler undergone Tommy John surgery twice, but his second procedure was far more invasive than his first, as he had his UCL replaced for a second time and his flexor tendon repaired.
The 6-foot-2 hurler, a two-time All-Star and 2020 World Series champion, was considered one of baseball’s top starting pitchers prior to his near-two-year, injury-related hiatus.
In 2021, Buehler logged a career-high 207.2 innings over 33 starts, posting a 2.47 ERA that finished third-lowest in the majors amongst qualified starters (min. 150 innings) behind only Max Scherzer (2.46) and Corbin Burnes (2.43). He also notched 212 strikeouts, three shy of equaling his career-high.
Additionally, Buehler accounted for a career-best 5.5 fWAR, the fourth-highest rating in the big leagues while finishing fourth in National League Cy Young voting.
The Lexington, Kentucky, native recorded an 8-5 record with a 2.62 ERA and 151 punchouts in 24 games (23 starts) as a rookie with the Dodgers in 2018, placing third in NL Rookie of the Year voting.
Los Angeles entered the season with a talented starting rotation on the IL, which included Buehler, Tony Gonsolin, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May and Emmet Sheehan. And they’ve since added Bobby Miller to their group of injured hurlers.
They’ve had to rebuild their pitching staff over the off-season to combat those losses, acquiring Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and James Paxton. That’s been a successful recipe thus far, as the starting staff entered Friday’s slate with the fifth-lowest OPP AVG (.219) and tied for the sixth-lowest starter’s ERA (3.48).
That group should become even more daunting for opposing teams once Buehler returns from the IL, especially since the Dodgers already possess a formidable 1-2-3 atop their batting order in Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Th3TruthPhotos. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.