The New York Yankees are interested in adding a pitcher who helped vanquish them in the World Series.
MLB Network insider Jon Paul Morosi reports there is “some mutual interest” between Walker Buehler and the Yankees. Buehler closed out Game 5 of the World Series in the Bronx as the Los Angeles Dodgers captured their second championship in five seasons.
Buehler struggled for most of the regular season after returning from his second Tommy John surgery, which cost him the entire 2023 season.
Over 16 starts in 2024, Buehler posted a 5.38 ERA across 75⅓ innings, with a paltry 72 OPS+ and his worst career strikeouts-per-nine-innings rate at 7.6.
However, Buehler pitched his best baseball in the National League Championship Series and World Series. Against the Yankees and New York Mets, he tossed 10 scoreless innings, striking out 13 batters.
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Where would Walker Buehler fit into the New York Yankees rotation?
Buehler, a two-time All-Star with the Dodgers, would slot into a rotation that includes ace Gerrit Cole, American League Rookie of the Year Luis Gil, Clarke Schmidt, and Carlos Rodón. Both Marcus Stroman and Nestor Cortes were moved to the bullpen late in the season due to their struggles.
A healthy Buehler would be a major boost to New York’s rotation. In 2021, he finished fourth in the National League Cy Young Award voting after striking out 212 batters in 207⅔ innings. He posted a 2.47 ERA, with an MLB-leading 171 ERA+ among qualified starters, and accumulated a 7.1 WAR.
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel predicts Buehler will get a three-year, $54 million contract in free agency.