When Craig Breslow signed Walker Buehler last December, the Red Sox chief baseball officer was hoping he had made one of the smarter moves of free agency.
Yet the signing — which was for $21.05 million this year, with a $25 million mutual option (and $3 million buyout) for 2026 — has not worked out as planned.
And now, Buehler has lost his spot in the Boston rotation.
Manager Alex Cora made the announcement prior to Boston’s game in New York on Friday night.
“Yeah, he’s gonna go to the bullpen,” Cora said, according to NESN. “I talked to him last night, Bres did too, (about) his new role. We’ll figure out how it goes. Maybe one inning, multiple innings, whatever it is, we don’t know yet.”
Alex Cora on Walker Buehler’s new role with the team”[Walker Buehler’s] going to go to the bullpen … I still believe in him.” pic.twitter.com/F683z8Cm0I
— NESN (@NESN) August 22, 2025
The Red Sox entered play on Friday in the second wild-card spot, 1 1/2 games behind the Yankees and a game up on the Mariners, with the Royals two games behind Seattle.
The 31-year-old Buehler started all but one of his 123 appearances from 2018-24, and he hasn’t pitched regularly as a reliever since making his debut as a rookie in 2017 with eight appearances for the Dodgers. His most recent regular-season relief appearance came on June 28, 2018, though he did famously come out of the bullpen to close out the clinching game of the World Series last October.
Despite two World Series championships and a pair of All-Star appearances, Buehler took the news like a “professional,” according to Cora.
“He’s been very frustrated with the way he has pitched. I still believe in him,” Cora added. “He’s a big part of what we’re trying to accomplish.”
This year, Buehler owns a 7-7 record, a 5.40 ERA and a 1.564 WHIP. The numbers are nearly identical to his 2024 season with the Dodgers, when he posted a 5.38 ERA and 1.553 WHIP.
Cora did not announce who would be added to the rotation, though the Red Sox have some intriguing options in Kyle Harrison and Payton Tolle. Harrison was acquired in the Rafael Devers trade and is 4-2 with a 3.69 ERA in 10 starts for Triple-A Worcester. Tolle, a 6-foot-6 lefty, is now Boston’s top prospect, He has a 3.12 ERA in 19 appearances (17 starts) across three levels of the minors this year, though he’s 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA thus far in Triple-A.
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