The timing wasn’t great, but Walker Buehler seems to be fine.
The Boston Red Sox have had many more health scares for starting pitchers than they would have preferred this spring.
Fortunately, none appear too serious. And that includes the recent scare the Red Sox caused based on the last-minute scratch for free-agent acquisition Walker Buehler.
Buehler was supposed to start Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Twins, but was scratched in favor of Cooper Criswell in the hours before the contest. Any long-term fears were quickly absolved, but the Red Sox also provided a crucial update about Buehler’s availability for the first series of the year.
After Saturday’s game, manager Alex Cora confirmed Buehler was dealing with a stomach virus and will return to the mound on Monday with the goal of making his previously scheduled regular season Red Sox debut on Saturday against the Texas Rangers.
“He’s sick,” Cora said, per MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “Hopefully, tomorrow, he’ll pitch on the back fields. He said he was feeling better. I was like, ‘Stay away from this and stay away from the clubhouse.’ The goal is for him to have six up-and-downs tomorrow. He’ll be ready for Game 3.”
Buehler, 30, wound up making just three official starts this spring, totaling 10 innings pitched, two earned runs allowed, and 11 strikeouts. Coming off a rocky 2024 season after returning from Tommy John surgery, it’s been encouraging to see the two-time All-Star find early success.
The Red Sox are already missing Lucas Giolito, Brayan Bello, and Kutter Crawford for at least the first three series of the season. They’ve had to dip into their starting pitching depth more than they would have liked already, but Buehler missing a start could have been a hectic last-minute curveball.
Now, Boston should have a solid chance at starting the season on a positive note against a solid Rangers squad. They just have to hope Buehler’s illness doesn’t cause any lingering effects.
