The Boston Red Sox are making a significant adjustment to their pitching staff, moving veteran right-hander Walker Buehler out of the starting rotation and into a bullpen role for the remainder of the season. Manager Alex Cora confirmed the decision before Friday’s matchup with the New York Yankees, signaling a pivotal shift in how the team intends to use one of its highest-paid arms during the playoff stretch.
Buehler, 31, had been slated to start against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday. Instead, he will now transition into relief duties after what has been a difficult campaign since returning from major surgery. Signed to a one-year, $21.05 million deal this past offseason, Buehler’s future with the Red Sox was viewed as both a gamble and an opportunity—a chance to prove he could reclaim his All-Star form. That opportunity, however, has not gone according to plan.
“I talked to him last night. [Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow] did, too,” Cora said, via MassLive. “This is his new role. We’ll figure out how it goes — maybe one inning, multiple innings, whatever it is. We don’t know yet.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Alex Cora on Walker Buehler's new role with the team<br><br>"[Walker Buehler's] going to go to the bullpen ... I still believe in him." <a href="https://t.co/F683z8Cm0I">pic.twitter.com/F683z8Cm0I</a></p>— NESN (@NESN) <a href="https://twitter.com/NESN/status/1959001105175638104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
A Season of Struggles
The decision comes after a string of underwhelming outings that left Boston searching for answers in its rotation. Across 22 starts, Buehler has recorded a 5.40 ERA with 82 strikeouts in 110 innings. His strikeout rate—6.7 per nine innings—is the lowest of his career, and his walk rate, averaging 4.4 per nine innings, marks his highest in eight MLB seasons. Opponents have also had success against him, registering 118 hits in those 110 innings.
Those numbers paint a stark contrast to the pitcher Boston hoped to see when they signed him. At his peak, Buehler was one of the most dominant right-handers in baseball, earning All-Star nods in 2019 and 2021 while posting a combined 30-8 record with a 2.87 ERA across those two standout years. But the journey back from two Tommy John surgeries has proven far from straightforward.
“It’s the first time in my career I’ve been in a situation like that,” Buehler admitted after the move was announced. “At the end of the day, the organization and — to a lesser extent, myself — probably think it’s the right thing for our group. It gives me an opportunity to reset in some ways. It’s a situation I’ve tried to avoid my whole life, but the way this season and last season have gone for me, it’s definitely understandable and something I’m going to try to embrace for the next couple months.”
A Rocky Road Back
Buehler’s journey over the past two seasons has been riddled with setbacks. After missing all of 2023 due to his second Tommy John surgery, he returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers late last year and posted a 5.38 ERA in 16 starts. Despite those struggles, he found flashes of his old self in October, pitching 15 innings during the Dodgers’ World Series championship run with 13 strikeouts and just six hits allowed.
That postseason performance gave Boston reason to believe he was on the verge of rediscovering his form. But from the outset of 2024, things unraveled quickly. In his first two starts with the Red Sox, Buehler surrendered nine earned runs across 9 1/3 innings before a stint on the injured list with right shoulder bursitis. One of the lowest points came on June 6, when he was tagged for seven runs in just two innings by the Yankees, later describing his performance as “f***ing embarrassing.”
The flashes of hope—such as strong outings against the Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres—have been overshadowed by inconsistency. A pair of games against the Houston Astros and Baltimore Orioles, in which he allowed six runs over 10 innings, underscored the difficulty in trusting him as a regular starter while the Red Sox fight for a playoff berth.
“That’ll be in the back of my mind, that it’s in there and that I can be a successful starting pitcher. Right now, I’m just not,” Buehler acknowledged. “For now, the offseason is going to be based around getting back to who I am as a starting pitcher. The next couple months will be about trying to help our team win.”
A Team in the Playoff Race
Boston’s decision comes with the team firmly in the postseason hunt. Entering Friday, the Red Sox sat third in the American League East, five games behind division-leading Toronto and just half a game back of the second-place Yankees. More importantly, they held the AL’s second wild-card spot, meaning every game down the stretch carries playoff implications.
Who will fill Buehler’s vacated rotation spot has yet to be officially determined. Richard Fitts, who holds a 4.83 ERA, and Kyle Harrison, with a 4.56 ERA, are both considered leading candidates. Both pitchers have shown flashes of potential but, like Buehler, come with questions about consistency in high-stakes situations.
Seeking Advice and Adapting
For Buehler, the bullpen move represents uncharted territory. In his eight major league seasons, he has built his career as a starter. Yet he is embracing the challenge with the help of advice from former teammates Daniel Hudson and David Price, both of whom successfully transitioned from starters to relievers during their careers.
The adjustment will be more than just a physical shift—it will demand a mental and routine overhaul. Relievers often thrive on different preparation styles, quicker turnarounds, and the ability to enter high-pressure situations on short notice. Buehler appears willing to adapt, focusing less on his long-term role and more on immediate team needs.
Looking Ahead
While the bullpen move may feel like a step back for Buehler, it could also be a necessary reset. If he can deliver quality innings in relief, it not only bolsters Boston’s playoff push but could also help rebuild his market value heading into free agency. His track record as a big-game pitcher—especially in October—suggests he has the potential to thrive in high-leverage spots.
For now, both Buehler and the Red Sox are framing the move as a temporary adjustment with an eye on the bigger picture. Boston needs stability and reliability, while Buehler needs an opportunity to reestablish himself. The bullpen might just provide the balance both sides are searching for.
