Looking to reassert role in rotation, Buehler takes 1st step with Red Sox

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- His Dodger days -- memorable in so many ways -- are now a thing of the past.

That said, Walker Buehler embraced Wednesday: His first day at Spring Training with the Red Sox.

While there¡¯s an easing-in process that comes for any veteran that joins a new team, Buehler is full-speed ahead on the pitching side of things.

And that¡¯s the first time he can say that in years.

On Day 1, Buehler threw a side session at the Fenway Park South complex. Five days prior, he faced hitters at his offseason home in Kentucky.

¡°So that's kind of a big step forward for me in terms of the timing of it,¡± said Buehler. ¡°You guys don't know [me] that well, but I'm typically a little bit of a late starter.¡±

Buehler¡¯s goal this season is to shed that late-starter reputation and start planting the seeds for a comeback season -- reminiscent of how he used to perform annually up until 2022, when he underwent his second Tommy John surgery.

The 2023 season was all about rehab, as Buehler didn¡¯t throw a pitch for the Dodgers. Last year, he was back -- sort of. Buehler opened his season on May 6, only to go on the injured list six weeks later with right hip inflammation, which sidelined him another two months. His ERA in the regular season was an almost unrecognizable 5.38 ERA in 16 starts.

Timing being everything, Buehler found his groove just in time . After getting shelled in Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the Padres, Buehler flourished in his final three outings of October, including his masterful ninth inning in relief to close out the Yankees in Game 5 of the World Series.

¡°His stuff during the playoffs caught my attention right away,¡± said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. ¡°I love the fact that he wanted the ball in that last game. And the last pitch of the season was a great one.¡±

How many times has Buehler watched that final out?

¡°A couple,¡± said Buehler.

A couple? Buehler then fessed up.

¡°I don¡¯t know. A lot,¡± Buehler said. ¡°It¡¯s fun. That¡¯s one of those things that you dream as a kid, and it happens and feels kind of unreal. One of the other cool parts about it is Josh Sborz, who got the last out the year before [for the Rangers], is one of my best friends, and so to do that kind of back-to-back years is pretty cool.¡±

As magical a moment as it was for Buehler, it wasn¡¯t enough to land him a multi-year deal in the offseason. So here Buehler is, on a one-year deal for the Red Sox that is set up perfectly for him to try to help his new team make a postseason run that was commonplace for his old one, and to re-establish his value.

Whether it is a one-year marriage of convenience or it turns into something more, this union could be a win-win for Buehler and Boston.

¡°I mean, I was on a one-year deal essentially last year too, right?" Buehler said. "I think any year that you don't have a contract for the next year, it doesn't really matter if it was five years before that or not. You¡¯re kind of trying to prove something. But I¡¯m more worried about proving that I can be a member of a rotation that's successful and not having a 5.50 ERA and that kind of stuff. So I think I proved it to myself a little bit at the end of the year, but now I¡¯ve got to try and do it for 185 games.¡±

While another winter acquisition -- lefty Garrett Crochet -- will likely be the ace of the staff, Buehler could become one of the leaders of the rotation given his experience.

¡°Personally speaking, that's a guy that I've looked up to and admired since I was in high school,¡± Crochet said. ¡°I followed his career at Vanderbilt and then into the big leagues. So it's really cool to be able to share the locker room with him, watch his full [bullpen sessions] and kind of pick his brain afterwards. That's something I look forward to doing for the rest of the year.¡±