Over three years removed from the second Tommy John surgery of his career, Walker Buehler is only now pain-free — and he doesn’t know why.
The right-handed pitcher, who signed a minor league deal with the Padres in mid-February, made his spring debut Thursday against the Mariners, allowing two earned runs over three innings while striking out four.
Buehler said competing for a spot in an MLB rotation — as elbow issues plagued him over the winter — seemed like a long shot just weeks earlier.
“About four weeks ago, my elbow just stopped hurting,” Buehler told reporters after the game. “That’s a new one for me. … Things have kind of ticked up from there.”
Along with veteran Germán Márquez and former Met Griffin Canning, Buehler is among several pitchers competing to fill out a spot in the back end of San Diego’s rotation.
Still just 31 years old, Buehler is not too far removed from his Dodgers dominance when he made two All-Star teams (2019, 2021) and firmly entrenched himself as a perennial Cy Young candidate.
In 2021, he finished fourth for the National League Cy Young award before undergoing his second Tommy John procedure the following season — and he has failed to recapture that previous success.
Though Buehler sealed the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series victory with bullpen heroics in Game 5 at Yankee Stadium, he struggled for much of his return, posting a 5.38 ERA in 16 starts.
He signed a one-year, $21 million prove-it deal with the Red Sox last season in an attempt to reestablish himself, but the results were disastrous.
Boston released Buehler in late August after he went 7-7 with a 5.45 in 23 appearances.
He latched on with the Phillies down the stretch, going 3-0 with a 0.66 ERA in three outings, offering a glimpse of his prior standout form.
Buehler’s new teammate Joe Musgrove, also recovering from Tommy John surgery, recently told The Athletic that he, along with other pitchers he’s spoken with, typically oes not feel fully back to normal until “the two-year mark.”
As he fights to revive his career and experience the other side of the Padres-Dodgers rivalry, Buehler agreed with the former All-Star.
“My first [Tommy John surgery] was a bit of an outlier,” Buehler said. “I was 21 years old and got way bigger, way stronger and my first live I felt better than I ever had. The second [surgery], that timeline checks out. … Maybe mine was even more delayed.
“I’ve tried every treatment and supplement, and vitamin you can. … Something got rid of it, and it hasn’t come back. I’m a little scared. I don’t know exactly what did it that fixed it.
“I hope if it hurts again, we get lucky again. But, all in all, it’s in a really good spot.”
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