The Boston Red Sox are making a change with their starting rotation. On Friday afternoon, manager Alex Cora told reporters the team will be moving veteran Walker Buehler to the bullpen.
"I talked to him last night, [Craig Breslow, chief baseball officer] did too, this is his new role," Cora said. "We'll figure out how it goes. Maybe one inning, multiple innings - whatever it is, we don't know yet." Cora shared Buehler handled the news "like a professional."
Cora noted Buehler's bullpen debut likely won't happen immediately, given he just started a game on Tuesday. "Whenever he's ready, I know he's going to help us out," Cora added.
Buehler, 31, has been a starter for the vast majority of his career. He pitched out of the bullpen eight times when he was first called up by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017, then made one bullpen appearance the year after that. Since then he's only pitched out of the bullpen once - he recorded the final three outs and earned the save in the clinching game of last year's World Series.
After an eight-year career with the Los Angeles Dodgers that included two All-Star seasons, Buehler joined the Red Sox this offseason on a one-year, $21 million contract. He struggled to start the season, with his ERA spiking to 6.45 in late June.
It's come down about a full run since - he has a 3.66 ERA in six starts since the All-Star break, but hasn't made it out of the fifth inning in three of those six starts and got passed the sixth only once. In his most recent start on Tuesday he threw four innings against the Baltimore Orioles, allowing two runs on four hits and four walks.
Overall as he moves to the bullpen, Buehler has a 5.40 ERA and 1.56 WHIP in 22 starts with a 7-7 record.
Cora said the team is still figuring out who will get Buehler's spot in the rotation, which is slated for Monday's game against the Orioles. The team has Brayan Bello, Garrett Crochet, and Dustin May starting over the weekend against the New York Yankees after Lucas Giolito pitched the series opener on Thursday night.