Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA — How about some more bad news to start your weekend off with? As if we didn’t have enough to worry about when it comes to the Dodgers pitching staff this season, we get this gem on Friday: After a two-inning rehab start in OKC, Walker Buehler is done for the year.
In the statement released by the Dodgers, Buehler is quoted as saying, ““My goal since last year has been to return to a Major League mound this season,” Buehler said. “After many conversations with my doctor, the Dodgers’ front office, training staff and my family, we concluded that waiting until next season is the right course of action.”
Buehler’s return was always a bit of a long shot, but with the heavy body blows that the rotation has been taking in the last few months (May, Gonsolin to the IL, Kershaw not quite fully healthy, Julio arrested for domestic violence, Lynn being Lynn), Dodger fans clung to the hope that Buehler and his nasty stuff would be riding over the ridge to save the day. This will not be the case.
“I am disappointed that I will not be able to help this team go after a title in the 2023 postseason,” concluded Buehler’s statement, “but I look forward to returning fully healthy in 2024 and bringing another World Series to L.A.”
So that’s a big fat bummer. Like it or not, we’ve got to lean heavy on our rookies to get us through October. Bobby Miller, Ryan Pepiot, Emmet Sheehan, Gavin Stone, Michael Grove… the stage is yours.
