Sometimes over the course of a long baseball season, opportunities arise and something unexpected happens. The Phillies experienced something along those lines in August when they learned that Zack Wheeler
had a blood clot that ultimately required thoracic outlet surgery and kept him out for the rest of the season. It was a blow to the Phillies rotation that was arguably the best in the league despite a terrible and injury plagued season from Aaron Nola. By the end of August, Philadelphia was searching for rotation depth while utilizing a six-man rotation.
Enter the recently released Walker Buehler.
2025 stats:
3 games, 2 starts, 3-0, 13.2 IP, 0.66 ERA, 8 K, 6 BB
What went right:
Buehler signed a one year, $21M deal with the Boston Red Sox before the season in the hopes of rebounding from an injury filled and ineffective final few years with the Dodgers. But that didn’t quite come to fruition, as Buehler struggled mightily in Boston with a 5.45 ERA in 23 games that eventually saw him demoted to the bullpen. Boston decided to release Buehler on August 29th, freeing him to sign with any team.
The Phillies pounced and inked Buehler to a minor league deal on August 31st, just before the deadline for a player to be eligible for the postseason. Buehler made one start at Triple-A before joining the Phillies on September 12th for a start against the Kansas City Royals. It was an impressive debut, as he threw five innings and allowed one run on five hits with three strikeouts and a walk on 90 pitches in an 8-2 win
Buehler made a second appearance on September 19th, this time as the second half of a piggyback with Taijuan Walker in Arizona. He threw 3.2 scoreless innings in relief while allowing two hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Buehler and Walker combined for 7.2 IP and two earned runs in an 8-2 win. He made his final appearance on September 25th, this time in a swapped role with Walker as Buehler started the piggyback. He pitched five scoreless innings with three hits allowed before giving way to Walker and the Phillies bullpen who secured a 1-0 win over the Marlins.
What went wrong:
That would be Buehler’s final appearance with the Phillies, as he did not appear in a game in the NLDS despite being on the postseason roster. The Phillies early exit ended the possibility that Buehler could have been used as a weapon out of the bullpen in a longer postseason series, as he was with the 2024 Dodgers when he closed out the World Series.
The future with the Phillies:
Buehler is once again a free agent trying to find somewhere to revitalize his career. He won’t turn 32 years old until July, so it’s likely that he will find a similar one-year deal somewhere, albeit at a decreased salary. His results with the Phillies were positive, even if they were an extremely small sample. It’s hard to infer much from the data in those three appearances, but there were a few things to make note of. Walker decreased his slider usage with the Phillies and increased the usage of his changeup, cutter, and fastball, despite his heater still sitting at a career-low 94 MPH average velocity. Maybe that’s the sign of a successful plan the Phillies used to get the most out of Buehler’s diminished stuff. Maybe it’s just too small a sample to be meaningful in any possible way.
The Phillies could still use rotation depth entering 2026. Wheeler’s status still remains cloudy as he recovers from surgery. Top prospect Andrew Painter is primed to make his long-awaited debut, but his effectiveness after a rocky return to pitching following Tommy John surgery is far from a guarantee. Nola is coming off of the worst season of his career. Walker had a surprising 2025 as a spot starter, but can he be trusted to hold down a rotation spot for a full season? And all of that doesn’t even address the issue of Ranger Suárez’ impending departure in free agency.
Would Buehler be open to a reunion? Would the Phillies? They have two openings as is, but one is likely temporary in Wheeler’s absence and the other is being reserved for Painter. Buehler probably showed enough in his three starts with the Phillies at the end of the year that some team would be willing to give him a rotation spot out of Spring Training. Did he and the Phillies see enough in each other that Buehler would be willing to come back as depth for one more year in the hopes of continuing to salvage his career before cashing in next offseason? Or will he look to do so elsewhere with more innings available? Do the Phillies want to spend real money on MLB starting depth, or will they instead look to sign minor league contracts?
