What Can The Phillies Expect From Walker Buehler?

Walker Buehler was an ace. Not so long ago. And now? Far from one. But the Philadelphia Phillies didn’t sign Buehler to be Zack Wheeler’s replacement.

They signed the veteran right-hander to give them competitive outings when they expand to a six-man rotation later this month. The question is: Can Buehler do that? Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski thinks so.

“We’re very excited to have him,” Dombrowski said, “because we think he makes us better and puts us in a position where we’re trying to do anything we can to qualify for the postseason and then, if we can make it, to do anything we can to win.”

The Phillies signed former ace Walker Buehler to fill out their rotation. (Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)

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From 2018 t0 2022, Buehler went 45-16 with a 2.95 ERA and 678 in 629 innings. Yeah, that guy is gone.

In the two seasons following his Tommy John surgery in August 2022, take a look-see at Buehler’s statline — uh, hide the kids for this one — an 8-13 record with a 5.42 ERA and 38 home runs allowed in 187⅔ innings.

His 16.6% strikeout ratio this season is a career low, and his 10.7% walk rate is his highest since his rookie year in 2017. Hence why the Red Sox released Buehler a few days ago and also why Phillies fans should restrain any expectations of him.

“This year hasn’t been as good for him as some other years, but we still like a lot of his stuff,” Dombrowski said. “We think we see some things that can hopefully help him. He’s willing to work with us.”

It sounds like Phillies pitching coach Caleb Cotham has a rush-job project with Buehler, hoping to unlock a smidgen extra from his 31-year-old right arm.

Buehler, who hasn’t started a game since Aug, 19, will make one start for triple-A Lehigh Valley on Saturday to stretch him out and then he’s expected to join the Phils’ rotation on September 12 against the Royals at home.

“Buehler is obviously extremely experienced,” said Phillies starting pitcher Jesús Luzardo said. “He’s got a lot of talent and obviously pitched in World Series games and won it before.”

And that’s really why Dombrowski nabbed Buehler — for a postseason run that includes a World Series appearance — to be an X-factor that we thought would be Andrew Painter. And after what Buehler did during the last postseason, maybe it’s a possibility.

Buehler unfurled 10 scoreless innings with 13 strikeouts during last year’s NLCS and World Series. It was during those appearances he looked ace-like — clearly geeked up on adrenaline and consistently hitting 96 and 97 mph with his heater. And his final pitch was a wicked 12-6 curve to strike out Yankees hitter Alex Verdugo to close out the Series. Check out how Buehler ripped through Yankee batters during the final inning:

So maybe that’s the Buehler the Phillies are hoping for — the one who showed up last October. And if the Phillies can unlock that Buehler — the October Buehler — then signing him will look like one of Dombrowski’s most brilliant strokes.

But first things first, let’s see how Buehler does on September 12.