Los Angeles Dodgers starter Walker Buehler pitched a gem in Game 3 of the World Series, throwing five shutout, two-hit innings in a 4-2 win over the New York Yankees. However, that may have been Buehler's final appearance as a member of the Dodgers.

Buehler will be a free agent this offseason and spoke about how he plans to approach free agency earlier in the week with Jack Harris of the LA Times.

“Once I had my second surgery, I don’t think I was under any illusion that I was gonna go sign a $350 million contract,” Buehler said. “I’m very happy to be a Los Angeles Dodger, and I would love to stay here for as long as they’ll have me. But I think in the past couple months, I’ve kind of built my confidence up a little bit to the point that there’ll be some teams that would want me. I feel like a major league starting pitcher, whether it’s here or elsewhere.”

“There’s no better way to go out if I do, or to come back, than after hopefully a World Series,” Buehler continued.

What will Walker Buehler's market look like this offseason?

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler (21) throws during the first inning in game three of the 2024 MLB World Series against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
© Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

In the regular season, Buehler had a 1-6 record with a 5.38 ERA in 16 starts after returning from the injured list in May after he missed the entire 2023 season while recovering from his second Tommy John surgery. In addition to his poor performance on the mound, Buehler also missed some time during the regular season with a hip injury.

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However, he turned things around in the postseason. In Game 3 of the NLCS, Buehler pitched four scoreless three-hit innings on the road at Citi Field as the Dodgers beat the New York Mets 8-0 to go up 2-1 in the series. Then, in Game 3 of the World Series, Buehler pitched five scoreless two-hit innings at Yankee Stadium as the Dodgers beat the Yankees 4-2 to take a 3-0 lead in the series.
At 30 years old and having already had two Tommy John surgeries, there are sure to be concerns about Buehler's long-term durability. While Buehler said that he would love to be a Dodger, it may be difficult for them to justify bringing him back Yoshinobu Yamamoto already on a long-term contract, Shohei Ohtani returning to the mound, Tyler Glasnow, Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May expected to return from injury and Clayton Kershaw expected to accept his player option.
Even though it may not be with the Dodgers, Buehler should have no trouble finding a short-term, high AAV contract from a team looking for a proven postseason contributor.