For the Los Angeles Dodgers, starting pitching is a resource that somehow keeps drying up.
No team has more starters with star power on their roster, but those starters seem to get hurt at a higher rate than any other team. Most of it is just bad luck, and the sad truth is that injuries are becoming commonplace for pitchers who throw as hard as many stars do.
After acquiring Jack Flaherty, arguably the top starter available at last year's deadline, the Dodgers will have their sights set on the starting pitching market again in 2025, barring a sudden return of three starters at once from the injured list.
Could a reunion with Walker Buehler, now of the Boston Red Sox, be on the table? The two-time World Series champion is on a one-year, $21 million contract, so he'd be a gun for hire as the Dodgers look to go back-to-back in the Fall Classic.
In a recent YouTube video, content creator Jim Riley named the Dodgers as the top potential trade fit for Buehler, who has struggled in his last two starts and seen his season ERA balloon to 5.18.
"Buehler pitched marvelous baseball for the Dodgers in October last year," Riley said. "Getting him back is not a bad idea."
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Buehler, 30, hasn't been the same pitcher since returning from Tommy John surgery during the 2024 regular season. But he seemed to find a different gear in the playoffs, and that allowed him to post 10 scoreless innings in his last three outings.
With the Red Sox hovering just below .500, Los Angeles would need to hope their cross-country trade partners continue to disappoint, which is the only way Buehler would become available.
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