It's been a rough return for Walker Buehler. After missing most of the 2023 season due to injury, Buehler returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers' rotation this season. The results have been… not ideal. In seven starts this season, Buehler has 5.84 ERA, way above league average. Not what you'd like to see from someone who was a Cy Young candidate in his last fully healthy season.
His last start against the Colorado Rockies was probably his worst outing of the season. The Dodgers righty gave up seven hits and seven runs in just four innings, striking out only two. While Coors Field is a nightmare for any pitcher, seven runs is a tad too much from someone like Buehler.
After that brutal start (which the Dodgers won, incredibly), Walker Buehler talked about the team's plans for him to recover. The pitcher mentioned that they could probably send Buehler to the injured list for a while for him to recover more, per SportsNet LA. It's a fascinating idea, especially since the righty has just looked… off.
“We’ve thought about taking a blow. Taking a month off, taking a week off,” Buehler said. “Trying to figure out how to get me reset. And maybe that’s coming, maybe not. I don’t know. We’ll see. It sucks to feel invaluable or like you’re hampering your team.”
In his last fully healthy season (2021), Buehler posted a 2.47 ERA with 212 strikeouts. He was an absolute monster on the mound, almost becoming the Dodgers' ace at the time. However, he struggled in 2022, eventually leading to the elbow injury that kept him out for the entirety of 2023.
Dodgers' pitching prowess
Save for Buehler's struggles, the Dodgers' starting rotation is in a rather weird spot. New acquisition Tyler Glasnow has been excellent for them this season, which is great. Gavin Stone has given them some great spot starts as well. However, a lot of their rotation right now is injured. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who was also balling, is on the injured list. Bobby Miller is injured as well. Clayton Kershaw and Dustin May have been on the IL since the start of the season.
On the hitting side, things have been pretty hit or miss for the Dodgers. When they're on, they are absolutely the best team in the league on offense. They boast the best trio in the league in Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman. However, the team can struggle at times. Complicating matters further is Betts' fractured hand. Betts will miss more than a month due to the injury.
The Dodgers were somehow able to claw through the deficit against the Rockies and win that game. However, that won't fly for other teams that are much better than Colorado. Sending Buehler to the IL for a break could be a good idea, as it allows the other pitchers of the Dodgers to shine while trying to figure out what's wrong with the star. We'll see what path LA will take with their pitcher.
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