The Los Angeles Dodgers might very well be the best team in Major League Baseball this season but losing right-hander Walker Buehler for the rest of the season and post-season is certainly going to impact their chances of winning the 2022 World Series.
The Dodgers announced Monday that Buehler will undergo season-ending elbow surgery next week.
The two-time All-Star, who finished fourth in NL Cy Young Award voting last season, hasn’t pitched for Los Angeles since June 10. They were hopeful that he could return for the end of the season and, more importantly, the postseason. The 28-year-old appeared in 12 games this year, finishing with a 4/02 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 65 innings.
Buehler had been aiming for a late September return after the Dodgers initially diagnosed him with a grade 2 right flexor tendon strain. However, that clearly changed at some point and now his season is done.
The NL West-leading Dodgers will have to move forward as-is as they attempt to stave off the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, and others for the top seed in the National League. They also have to compete against the San Diego Padres, who revamped their lineup with a series of trades recently.
While we wait to see just how much the Dodgers miss Buehler when it matters most, the news certainly created some strong reactions around the MLB world.
I still love the entire Dodgers lineup but man that rotation gets bleak quickly. https://t.co/h31R58JSiK
— Kate Feldman (@kateefeldman) August 15, 2022
[Dodgers]
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.