Dodgers Place Walker Buehler On Injured List

The Dodgers announced the placement of Walker Buehler on the 15-day injured list. He’s dealing with inflammation in his right hip. That’s the corresponding move for the reinstatement of Bobby Miller from his own 15-day IL stint. Manager Dave Roberts announced last week that Miller would make his return tonight against the Rockies.

Buehler’s IL placement isn’t unexpected. Both Roberts and the veteran righty told reporters last night that it was under consideration. Buehler hasn’t looked like himself in his return from the second Tommy John surgery of his career. He has taken the ball eight times since being activated on May 6. Buehler has been tagged for a 5.84 ERA across 37 innings with alarming underlying indicators. Opponents have already connected on 10 home runs (2.43 per nine) while his strikeout rate has dropped to a personal-low 18.5% clip.

On a per-pitch basis, Buehler has gotten swinging strikes only 7.2% of the time. He had landed somewhere in the 10-12% range in every prior season of his career. Buehler hasn’t had any issues throwing strikes, but his overall performance has been that of a control-oriented #5 starter as opposed to a borderline ace.

It wouldn’t have been fair to expect Buehler to immediately pick back up as a top-flight starter nearly two years since his most recent MLB pitch. He and the Dodgers certainly wouldn’t have anticipated him struggling to this extent, though, so the IL placement will serve as a reset. Buehler’s velocity has come back after the elbow procedure, offering reason for optimism he can sort things out. His four-seam fastball has averaged 95.5 MPH while his 91.5 MPH cutter and 79 MPH knuckle-curve are in line with their respective 2022 figures.

That will leave the Dodgers shorthanded in the rotation. As recently as late last week, Roberts indicated that L.A. was going to move to a six-man unit with Miller’s return. Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Buehler since gone down, leaving Tyler Glasnow, Gavin Stone and James Paxton alongside Miller.

Roberts said tonight that L.A. will make a move on Friday to fill the starting spot (X link via Juan Toribio of MLB.com). Righty Landon Knack last pitched for Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday, so he’d be on regular rest for a Friday start. Knack pitched well in four MLB starts earlier in the year and has a 3.54 ERA over 48 1/3 frames with OKC. He’s the straightforward choice to draw back into the starting five.