Walker Buehler Turned Down Major League Contract Offers to Join Padres on MiLB Deal – Sports Illustrated

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After a very shaky 2025 season, veteran right-hander Walker Buehler took a patient approach to his free agency. Buehler wanted to make sure that he was goin.g to the correct team, and he eventually landed with the San Diego Padres organization.
Buehler is the classic example of how just a year can make such a difference for a player. Last offseason, the right-hander was on top of the world after helping the Los Angeles Dodgers close out a World Series win.
But fast forward to now, and the veteran was forced to sign a minor league deal. However, Buehler did have offers from other teams for big league contracts, but turned them down to come to San Diego.
“I wanted to play in the playoffs and go to a place that has a chance to win,” Buehler said. “That coupled with the individual stuff and contract terms and all that kind of stuff, it’s kind of a little two-way calculus you’ve got to do. At the end of day, this was the opportunity that I was most excited about, and I’m happy that it worked out.”
Buehler wanted to earn his way onto the roster, and now he has. San Diego's starting rotation does have a ton of questions, but the veteran has made the roster as a starting pitcher.
For now, the right-hander just has to keep proving himself on the mound, and the Padres will give him the chance to do so. Buehler will take the spot of Joe Musgrove in the rotation after he suffered a setback in his Tommy John recovery.
So far this spring, Buehler has made three starts for the Padres, allowing four runs over 11.2 innings of work. Overall, the righty put up an ERA of 3.09, and he has caught the attention of Padres manager Craig Stammen.
“He bought into our philosophy and the overall holistic approach to making him a better pitcher,” Stammen said. “Him buying into that so quickly and seeing success with it over the last couple starts made us feel  really comfortable putting him on the team.”
Buehler has dealt with some brutal injuries over the course of his MLB career, including undergoing two Tommy John surgeries. The velocity on his fastball has been down over the last few years, but there is hope that he can still pitch effectively.
Playing in Petco Park should help Buehler, as he owns a career ERA of 2.18 at the park, which is fourth best all-time. San Diego is happy that he is finally on their side after all the battles over the years.
The veteran right-hander will make $1.5 million this season, but he does have a chance for that to increase to $2.5 million with performance bonuses. The Padres are hoping that Buehler can round back into his former All-Star self — and if he can even do so a little bit, this team will have found a gem.
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Matt earned a Master of Science degree in Sport Management from Louisiana State University in 2021. He was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, covering all Southern California sports in his career.
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