Former top starter Walker Buehler joins Padres on minor-league deal: Sources

PEORIA, Ariz. — Veteran right-hander Walker Buehler has agreed to a minor-league deal with the San Diego Padres, league sources told The Athletic on Monday, adding another rotation option to one of baseball’s busiest teams.

Buehler, who will be in major-league camp on a non-roster invitation, is a former frontline starter who has been diminished by injuries. He joins Miguel Andujar, Griffin Canning, Nick Castellanos, Germán Márquez and Ty France as low-cost acquisitions procured in the last week by newly extended president of baseball operations A.J. Preller.

Since two All-Star berths and a top-four Cy Young Award finish with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Buehler has not re-approached that form since requiring his second Tommy John surgery and a flexor tendon repair in 2022. Buehler signed a one-year, $21.05 million free-agent contract with the Boston Red Sox last offseason, struggled to a 5.45 ERA and was released in August. He subsequently signed a minor-league deal with the Philadelphia Phillies and resurfaced for three big-league appearances in September.

Still, his credentials could give him an advantage. With Canning returning from an Achilles rupture that could sideline him beyond Opening Day, Buehler will join Marco Gonzales, Márquez, Triston McKenzie, JP Sears and Matt Waldron in the competition for a job at the back of the Padres’ rotation.