22:28: Buhler will be excluded from the throw for 6-8 weeks, Roberts told Jack Harris and other reporters as MRI revealed flexor tension. While Buhler will have to regain the strength of his hand from almost zero after that, Roberts really believes that the right-hander will be able to play again in 2022.
16:30: After Walker Buhler left yesterday’s game with discomfort in his right elbow, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Fabian Ardaia of The Athletic and Jack Harris of The LA Times) that Buhler would be placed in the 15-day list of injured. The team officially announced the deal, listing Buhler’s position as due to tension in his right forearm.
Buhler is currently undergoing magnetic resonance imaging to determine the extent and nature of the injury, but Roberts said the right-winger would miss a “good little time.” Right-wing Michael Grove will be called to take Buhler’s place on the active list. Buhler underwent surgery on Tommy John in 2015, and although he has been avoiding serious elbow / forearm problems ever since, it’s a natural concern to see Buhler on the sidelines again with any kind of injury. More will be known after the MRI results are revealed, as it is not yet clear whether Buhler’s season (or after) may be in jeopardy.
At the very least, the Dodgers will have a large vacancy to fill the starting rotation, even if Buhler was not at ace level in 2022. Buhler has a 4.02 ERA for 65 innings, with a very solid 6.2% walking rate , but below the average strikeout rate of 21.2% and unconvincing Statcast numbers. The biggest problem is Buhler’s fast ball with four stitches, which at times was dominant plus a field in 2018-21, but the fighters collided on four stitches this year. Speed dropped to an average of 95.2mph, although not much below Buehler’s career average of 96.1mph on his four-seater.
The Dodgers could have a rotating replacement for Buhler in a relatively short time, as Roberts said Andrew Heaney is set to start another rehabilitation on Tuesday and could be activated by IL for the Dodgers’ game with the Guardians on June 19. Los Angeles also has weekends on both Mondays and Thursdays, so a fifth start won’t be needed in the short term.
In the bigger picture, of course, Buhler’s loss for a long time will certainly increase the Dodgers’ focus on adding initial targeting to the deadline. By the time LA received its typically strong results from its rotation this year, targeting was already expected to be a target area to add more depth and quality to the starting five. Baseball President Andrew Friedman has not shy away from adding big names (including star pitchers like Max Scherzer or You Darwish) to the list in past trade terms, so everything from adding depth to blockbuster deals can be on the table for Dodgers before August 2.
Buhler was set aside just as Clayton Kershaw was returning from his own stay in Illinois, leaving the Dodgers still less than their ideal top of the rotation. Kershaw, Julio Urias, Tony Gonsolin, Tyler Anderson and Heaney are now forming the current starting five, with Dustin May (TJ surgery) and Danny Duffy (flexor tendon surgery) expected to return at some point later in the season. Pitchers such as Grove, Ryan Pepiot and Mitch White have also gained some space this season and could be called up again for more rotating work or potentially mitigating roles, depending on how the club chooses to deploy one of these hurlers.
Add Comment