While Craig Breslow had some real hits in free agency last winter — Aroldis Chapman, Alex Bregman — Walker Buehler was not one of them.

The Red Sox signed Buehler to a $21 million contract, but the results were disastrous. The right-hander posted a 5.45 ERA and 1.558 WHIP in 23 appearances, pitched his way out of the starting rotation, and was designated for assignment in August.

That was enough to earn Buehler second place on Jayson Stark’s AL “Cy Yuk” ballot.

Every year, The Athletic writer publishes a story with conventional award winners and a few of his own creation. The “Cy Yuk” is self-explanatory, given to the worst pitcher in each respective league. Only Charlie Morton fared worse than Buehler, as he won the AL award for poor performances with both the Orioles and Tigers.

“Charlie Morton is one of my favorite humans on Planet Baseball. So I tried to talk myself out of presenting him with this prestigious Cy Yuk award. In the end, it just didn’t work,” Stark writes. “I surveyed a bunch of friends and executives in the game. They tossed out other names, but many of those exchanges kept coming back to a guy who, unfortunately, played a role in torpedoing the October dreams of two AL teams in a very strange season.”

As for Buehler, he’s found his footing in the National League.

The 31-year-old signed with the Phillies after being DFA’d, and in three appearances for Philadelphia, Buehler has allowed one run in 13⅔ innings. After struggling in Boston, he could wind up on Dave Dombrowski’s postseason roster.

“He’s in a real good position right now,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson told reporters. “Just make sure that he’s healthy, No. 1, and that he’s commanding the baseball, especially the fastball. He can get right-handed hitters out.”

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