The Los Angeles Dodgers made a $20 million offer to starting pitcher Walker Buehler during free agency following the 2024 season, per The New York Post’s Jon Heyman.
Buehler had spent his entire career prior to the 2025 season with the Dodgers, making 131 appearances from 2017-24.
“The Dodgers made Buehler a $20M offer to return, but made no offer to Flaherty and instead targeted Snell, who has a 0.86 ERA this postseason after shutting down the Brewers in eight shutout, one-hit innings in his 2-1 Game 1 victory,” wrote Heyman.
More news: Dodgers Stars Get Honest About ‘Low Point’ of LA’s Season, Talk Battling Back
The Dodgers’ interest in keeping Buehler is understandable, as he showed up during both of the Dodgers’ World Series runs in 2020 and 2024. During the 2020 postseason, he made five starts and posted a 1.80 ERA through 25 innings and struck out 39 batters. He spearheaded a hobbled Dodgers rotation during the 2024 postseason, posting a 3.60 ERA through four appearances.
The right-hander ultimately signed a one-year, $21 million deal with the Boston Red Sox, though didn’t spend the entire season in Beantown. He posted a 5.45 ERA with the Red Sox, throwing 112.1 innings before they released him at the end of August. The Phillies picked him up a few days later, and he earned a win in all three of his appearances with Philadelphia.
Buehler was on the Phillies’ roster during the NLDS, however he never came in to face the Dodgers during the series.
Whether or not the Dodgers had space for Buehler in their rotation is debatable, as they already had as many as six starters in their rotation during 2025. Shohei Ohtani and Emmet Sheehan both returned to the mound from injury, and the additions of Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki allowed even less room among the Dodgers’ starters.
More news: Will Tanner Scott Return to the Dodgers in the World Series?
The Dodgers will be happy with how things panned out, though, as their starters broke MLB records during their recent NLCS triumph. Across their four games against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Dodgers’ starters posted an ERA of 0.63 — the lowest by any MLB team in a league championship series.
The Dodgers are back in the World Series this season, and begin the final series of the season on Friday, Oct. 24.
Photo Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Have you downloaded the new Dodgers Nation app yet? Click here for Apple Users and here for Android Users to be a part of the redesigned app to give fans everything they need, all in one place. Don’t miss out on live GameCast with play-by-play, news and analysis, Dodgers Nation podcasts and videos, all the stats you want and more!
LA Baseball Report
Get the app for faster news
GET ×