Why October hero Walker Buehler was always going to leave the Dodgers

The moment was already destined for Dodgers lore.

Walker Buehler, arms outstretched, bristling off the Yankee Stadium mound, a World Series title just secured with his trademark knuckle curveball.

Now the stage will also be a farewell image for Buehler’s distinguished tenure at the club.

On Monday, Buehler agreed to a one-year, $21.05 million contract with the Boston Red Sox, as Yahoo Sports first reported , officially ending a seven-year run with the Dodgers that included tantalizing heights (two All-Star selections, two World Series) titles and from 2018-2021 the fourth-best ERA in the majors), injury-plagued lows (including two Tommy John surgeries that derailed his ascension as the Dodgers’ next great ace) and a fitting final act, with Buehler’s iconic save in Game 5 of the World Series turning out to be his final game in a Dodgers uniform.

It’s a departure that for most of this year had been expected as Buehler struggled mightily during the regular season to return from his second Tommy John procedure.

Despite his 1-6 record and career-worst 5.38 ERA, however, Buehler snuck into the Dodgers’ postseason rotation amid a rash of other pitching injuries and delivered in ways even he didn’t quite expect. Four shutout innings in a Game 3 win in the National League Championship Series. Five clean frames in Game 3 of the Fall Classic. And then, on just one day of rest, a 16-pitch shutout to close out a championship.

For the first time in three years, glimpses of Buehler’s once-dominant form returned.

And for a moment, a path for the impending free agent to re-sign in Los Angeles seemed to emerge.

“What Walker did, what he’s done for us, what he did for us this year, his teammates, that’s not lost on us,” general manager Brandon Gomes said last month.

Alas, the chances of such a reunion were effectively dashed in the first week of the offseason when the Dodgers decided not to extend a one-year, $21.05 million qualifying offer to the 30-year-old right-hander.

This move allowed Buehler to hit the open market without the burden of a draft-pick penalty. And as the Dodgers looked elsewhere to bolster their rotation — they signed two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell to a $182 million contract and remain engaged in the competition for 23-year-old Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki — it became clear It was unlikely that Buehler would fit into their 2025 plans.

“I think there’s no better way to go out if I do,” Buehler said on the eve of the Fall Classic when asked about 2024 potentially being his last season with the Dodgers, “than after hopefully a successful World Series.”

The Dodgers’ decision not to offer Buehler a QO — which was for roughly the same amount he reportedly will receive from the Red Sox — was met with some surprise in the industry.

In a vacuum, Buehler’s regular-season performance might not have warranted such a payday. The grim history of two-time Tommy John pitchers also added risk.

Nevertheless, Buehler was perhaps the best homegrown success story of this era of Dodgers baseball, going from a first-round draft pick out of Vanderbilt in 2017 to an integral member of the club’s 2020 and 2024 championship teams.

This year’s October heroics had rekindled the fan base’s love for the ever-confident veteran pitcher, evidenced by the raucous reception he received at the team’s championship parade last month while wearing the vintage jersey that Orel Hersisher — a longtime mentor of his in the organization — had worn in the 1988 World Series.

Walker Buehler, wearing an Orel Hershiser jersey, speaks at the championship celebration at Dodger Stadium last month.

(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

At various times leading up to this offseason, Buehler had expressed a desire to stay in Los Angeles, saying before the World Series that “I’m very happy to be a Los Angeles Dodger and I would love to stay here as long as they want have me.”

Even then, Buehler hinted that the team’s QO decision would likely dictate his chances of returning.

“The first step in everything that’s on the team,” he said of his impending free agency. “And it will happen very quickly one way or another.”

While the Dodgers remained open to bringing Buehler back even after they declined to offer him a QO, market dynamics always seemed to result in a split. Because Beuhler did not receive a QO, other teams were not forced to surrender a draft pick to select him. And as a talented arm with an excellent postseason track record, he became an intriguing option for other candidates looking to round out their rotations.

Where he may have been a superfluous signing for a Dodgers team that is already well past the top luxury tax threshold and will have Shohei Ohtani, Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin back from injuries next season, Buehler may now be a missing piece for the playoffs -hungry Red Sox, who finished five games out of the American League wild-card picture last season.

“The last few months,” Buehler said amid his postseason resurgence, “I’ve kind of built up my confidence to the point that there’s going to be some teams that want me on their team. I feel like a starting pitcher from Major League, whether it’s here or elsewhere.”

On Monday, the latter officially became a reality.

Walker Buehler is no longer a Dodger. His championship-clinching curveball will be the lasting memory of his tenure with the team.

“I’ve played my whole career here, I love playing here,” Buehler said during the World Series. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”