Red Sox agree to right-hander Walker Buehler According to Russell Dorsey of Yahoo Sports, the one-year deal is worth $21.05. The deal is pending physical delivery and includes incentives that could push the value beyond the numbers mentioned above.
This is an interesting deal for Buehler because the $21.05MM guarantee perfectly mirrors the guarantee of the qualifying offer. buehler himself and the red sox right hander Nick Pivetta Considered a fringe candidate for extending QO at the start of winter. Ultimately, the Dodgers declined to make an offer to Buehler, and the Red Sox made an offer to Pivetta, which was rejected. From a financial and roster standpoint, today’s deal gives Buehler the same guarantees the Dodgers had by extending his QO, while allowing Boston to add a veteran right-hander to its young rotation on a one-year deal lineup, which reflects what they gave Pivetta last month.
The 30-year-old right-hander emerged as one of the league’s most talented young starters during his rookie season in 2018 and pitched to a stellar 2.82 ERA (146 ERA+) and 3.16 ERA in four seasons from 2018-21. FIP. Buehler finishes fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting corbyn burns, Zack Wheelerand Max Scherzer This game seemed to solidify his status as one of the league’s top aces. However, that career trajectory was derailed early in the 2023 season. Buehler started 12 games for the Dodgers that year and posted a relatively mediocre 4.02 ERA (101 ERA+), but went on the injured list in June and ultimately required Tommy John surgery. .
Buehler did not return to the major league mound until May 2024 (nearly two years later) and struggled greatly upon his return. Additional injuries limited Buehler to just 16 starts for the Dodgers this year, and even when he took the mound, the right-hander struggled. All told, Buehler posted a 5.38 ERA (72+ ERA) and a 5.54 FIP in his final regular season with the Dodgers. That being said, the right-hander did end his season on a positive note with a 3.60 ERA in the club’s bid for a World Series title this year. After a brutal start against the Padres in the NLDS, Buehler went 10 scoreless innings between the NLCS and World Series while striking out one-third of his opponents.
The combination of a strong playoff run, a poor regular season, a concerning injury history and a dominant record make Buehler one of the most intriguing free agents on the market this winter and perhaps the ultimate high-risk, high-risk prospect. Signing of returns. To that end, it’s perhaps no surprise that he’s attracted interest from a number of teams. In addition to the Red Sox, Buehler has drawn interest from the Tigers, Cubs, Mets, Yankees, Athletics and Braves this winter. This widespread interest suggested early in the winter that Buehler was likely to earn more than MLBTR’s projected one-year, $15MM contract and that he would become part of our annual list of the 50 MLB Free Agents , in which Buehler was named #ThisYear There are 37 free agents in the winter. It even seemed to open the door to the possibility that the right-hander could work out a multi-year deal with an opt-out; while he ultimately agreed to a one-year deal, his $21.05 salary in 2025 would likely be lower than he would have been if he had signed a multi-year deal Earning a much healthier annual salary.
For the Red Sox, the addition of Buehler adds another arm with plenty of upside to an already loaded rotation. If Buehler can return to his early-career form, he’ll form a formidable top two spot in Boston’s rotation with lefties. Garrett Crochet with right-handers Lucas Giolito and tanner hawk Join them to create a powerful quartet. The additions of Crochet and Buehler also greatly deepen this group, as the right-hander Brian Bello, Kurt Crawford, Richard Fittsand Cooper Criswell All will be in the conversation for starters after becoming key players in the club’s rotation last year. The Red Sox also have interesting upside lower down the depth chart Quinn Priest and Michael Fulmer.
The addition of Buehler brings the club’s 2025 payroll to just over $175MM, according to RosterResource. However, in terms of luxury tax, the number is much higher at just under $212. This leaves the club with approximately $29MM to spend before exceeding the first luxury tax threshold. The Red Sox last crossed the first threshold in 2022, but there’s been no indication from club brass that the first threshold represents a hard limit on their spending during what will be a fairly busy offseason for the club. As the rotation solidifies, it seems likely that the club’s priorities will shift toward adding a right-handed bat to the lineup, whether it’s an outfielder, e.g. Teoscar Hernandez or like an infielder Alex Bregman or Nolan Arenado.
