Ex-Red Sox Duo Offered Approval Stamp Of Walker Buehler Deal

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora did his due diligence after the team signed starting pitcher Walker Buehler to a one-year, $21 million deal this offseason.

Cora felt sure of the decision made by chief baseball officer Craig Breslow to welcome Buehler abroad, but the six-year skipper still wanted to make sure. So, Cora reached out for some feedback, courtesy of a few former Boston players and Buehler teammates, which was exactly what Cora was hoping to hear.

“This guy, I think he’ll be perfect for us,” Cora told WEEI’s Rob Bradford on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast. “(He’ll) bring that persona to where we play — not afraid of the big stage — and being around some people that’ll be Hall of Famers, right? He comes from an organization that they do it right. I texted some people that we know and they were like, ‘Yeah. Yeah, you’re gonna love him.'”

Cora added: “Those guys were Kiké (Hernández) and Joe (Kelly). They were like, ‘Yup. Yup. He’ll be OK up there. He’ll be OK.’ So, excited about him.”

Hernández won two World Series titles with Buehler (2020, 2024) while Kelly was along for the ride in 2020. Kelly captured his first ring with the Red Sox in 2018, playing under a then first-year manager in Cora, and knows what Boston expects.

Therefore, Cora shouldn’t be the only one excited at Fenway Park once the season kicks off following Buehler’s stamp of approval.

Buehler underwent a down year with the Dodgers last season, going 1-6 with an uncharacteristic 5.38 ERA across 16 starts. The 30-year-old turned it up a notch once the playoffs commenced by going 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA, striking out 13 including ex-New York Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo to record the final out of the 2024 Fall Classic.

Pitching in a depth-heavy rotation alongside Garrett Crochet, Lucas Giolito, Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford and potentially Patrick Sandoval — who’s projected to return following the All-Star break — won’t be new for Buehler. The right-hander is used to the six-man rotation structure that Cora and Boston’s coaching staff have considered adopting for the 2025 season.

“Obviously, I’ve experienced both and have been a part of both so when we talked about it, it was kind of that like, is there a potential that we would do a six-man,” Buehler told reporters last week in a Zoom call. “I know (Giolito) is supposed to be ready in spring and Sandoval coming later in the year.”

Buehler is just two years removed from his last All-Star appearance, a season in which the seven-year veteran finished fourth in the National League Cy Young Award race.