Cubs Sweeten the Pot: Dodgers Homegrown Talent Lured Away by $45 Million Chicago Deal
What will become of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ World Series free agents?
After helping a team to a championship, the natural inclination of any player is to try and stay with that team as long as possible. But the Dodgers, especially on the starting pitching side of things, simply might not have room.
With Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Blake Snell as rotation locks, LA is already close to having its pitching staff fully filled out. But that doesn’t factor in the potential return of lifelong Dodger and two-time All-Star Walker Buehler.
Buehler had a rough regular season in his return from Tommy John surgery, pitching to a 5.38 ERA in 75 1/3 innings. But he rebounded in the playoffs and showed the world why he’s one of October’s finest pitchers, finishing the season on a 13-inning scoreless streak and lowering his career playoff ERA to 3.04.
On Friday, Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer predicted that Buehler would sign with the Chicago Cubs on a three-year, $45 million deal with player options for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
“Walker Buehler was one of the top pitchers in MLB between 2018 and 2021, pitching to a 2.82 ERA with 4.5 times as many strikeouts as walks,” Rymer said. “He isn’t this guy anymore. And yet, maybe he could be again?”
“Buehler is to this year’s market what Jack Flaherty was to the 2023-24 market. He doesn’t offer much in the way of certainty, but his history and his future upside make him a compelling target on a one-year deal or a long-term contract with opt-outs.”
The Cubs, who just traded for superstar right fielder Kyle Tucker, have the chance to become a factor in the National League Central, despite winning just 83 games a season ago. With a tighter budget than most big-market teams, Buehler makes sense as a target for Chicago.
As for the Dodgers? Unless they’re willing to pay mid-rotation money for Buehler to pitch at the back end of their rotation, they most likely have to hope his playoff aptitude doesn’t haunt them next October.
