Dodgers' decision to part with Walker Buehler validated in way nobody expected

There were a lot of Dodgers fans who were disappointed to see Walker Buehler leave LA in free agency last season, but it was the right time to let him go. Despite his postseason heroics, which he'll always be able to hang his hat on and might even make him a risky but attractive trade candidate at the deadline, the Dodgers' rotation was getting too crowded and his regular season performance was too lackluster for the front office to break their backs trying to keep him.

Red Sox fans are experiencing exactly what Dodgers fans did last year, after Buehler finally came back from multiple IL stints. Occasionally, he's very good — he has two seven-inning quality starts this year — but more often than not, he's really bad.

In his latest outing against the Angels, he gave up five runs in four innings on three hits, two hit-by-pitches, and a staggering seven walks. That came after a 3 1/3-inning effort when he gave up eight runs on eight hits and four walks was more than enough for Boston fans to start calling for a swift DFA.

But all of his damage against the Angels on Monday night came in the first inning, which essentially took the Red Sox out of the game.

Former Dodgers ace Walker Buehler is bombing with the Red Sox

Buehler could still get dealt if the Red Sox wave a white flag at the deadline. In a list of baseball's top 50 trade deadline candidates, Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel listed Buehler at No. 28 and gave him a 35% chance of being traded. They also listed the Dodgers as the top best fit, on the grounds that Buehler comes to life during the postseason.

The Dodgers certainly didn't take all of their best pitchers into the postseason last year given all of the injuries, and they might not be able to this year, either. But the Dodgers are banking on Tyler Glasnow being healthy and Shohei Ohtani being able to go longer than one inning. The two of them along with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Dustin May would get the job done in October.

While leaning toward gambling on injured pitchers is not necessarily the best strategy for a team as breakable as this, and reinforcements very well may be necessary, they shouldn't look at Buehler even if the Red Sox are selling. Based on what he's been able to do this season (or, more accurately, not been able to do), it's probably best to let that book stay closed.