Walker Buehler has signed with the San Diego Padres after the right-hander spent the first eight seasons of his major league career with their archrivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Buehler was in the Padres’ clubhouse Tuesday morning after agreeing to a minor league deal with an invitation to big league camp.
“Yeah, it feels a little weird,” Buehler told reporters in Arizona after pulling on a brown and gold uniform. “I imagine five years ago it would have felt a lot more weird, but this is a crazy game and this is a great opportunity for me.”
The 31-year-old Buehler said he will “come in and try and make the team and contribute in any way I can. I’m a starter, and I want to start, so I’m here to try and make the rotation.”
Buehler spent last season with Boston and Philadelphia, which signed him in late August after the Red Sox released him. Buehler struggled in Boston, but looked good enough during his brief time with the Phillies to generate interest from the Padres and other teams.
“I threw the ball well over there, and getting the velocity back as well as the delivery has kind of been the big thing,” Buehler said. “The second half of last year was relatively successful compared to the first half, and there’s stuff we want to continue to build on there.”
Buehler earned two All-Star selections and two World Series rings during his 10 years in the Dodgers organization, serving as a mainstay in their rotation whenever healthy and often looking like one of the majors’ top starters. He has been particularly good against the Padres in his career, going 7-1 with a 1.67 ERA and 83 strikeouts in his 13 starts.
He won Game 3 of the World Series in 2024 before earning the save in the Dodgers’ clinching Game 5 victory at Yankee Stadium, capping his return to uniform with a gritty Fall Classic. He had missed the entire 2023 season and big chunks of 2024 while recovering from his second Tommy John surgery.
But that memorable relief inning in Game 5 to preserve a 7-6 victory over the Yankees was his final appearance for the Dodgers, who allowed Buehler to walk as a free agent for a lucrative deal with Boston. After one tumultuous year back East, he’s eager to be back in the NL West with the Padres, who have two openings in their rotation.
“Obviously some familiarity with the division, and living in Southern California is something that my family and I are accustomed to,” Buehler said. “A good opportunity to be a part of a really talented ballclub. Looking forward to seeing what we can make of it.”
Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove and Michael King already have spots in San Diego’s rotation. Buehler will be competing for the final two slots with returnees Randy Vasquez and JP Sears and newly signed German Marquez and Griffin Canning.
Buehler said he moved out West during the offseason to prepare for another run at the majors, and he “got my body in a little better spot.”
Buehler said his delivery is returning to the level and form at which he spent his first six big league seasons with the Dodgers before elbow surgery.
“My elbow and my body has kind of been through some stuff,” he said.
The Padres have been remarkably busy over the past week after doing little during the winter to bolster the roster of a team that won 90 games and made the postseason for the fourth time in six years.
General manager A.J. Preller signed slugger Nick Castellanos along with Canning and Márquez over the weekend after adding Miguel Andujar a week earlier.
Preller also agreed to a contract extension, keeping the second-longest-tenured baseball boss in the majors with San Diego during the club’s probable sale process.
Buehler is 57-29 with a 3.52 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP over his decade in the majors. He has topped 150 strikeouts three times.
Reporting by The Associated Press
