ESPN predicts the Dodgers trade deadline reunion no one saw coming

The Dodgers' divorce with Walker Buehler this past offseason was disappointing for a lot of fans who wanted to see Buehler become a Dodger for life, but it also felt inevitable given the amount of pitchers LA was expecting to get back in 2025 and their plans to add even more ahead of spring training.

Still, the Dodgers did try to keep Buehler; they didn't give him the official qualifying offer, but did offer an equivalent deal so as not to hurt his market with the draft pick contingency attached to the QO. Instead, he took the same exact deal from the Red Sox and moved on.

This year, LA's rotation is in dire straits, and we should expect them to be active at the trade deadline, especially if Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow's prognoses still don't look promising after the All-Star break.

Jeff Passan offered a best fit for all of the teams that look like they'll be contending by the deadline. For the Dodgers, he recommended a reunion with Buehler as a rental to patch over some of the holes left in the rotation.

Jeff Passan suggests a Dodgers reunion with Walker Buehler could be exactly what they need at the trade deadline

Passan's reasoning for the connection makes some sense. The Red Sox are under .500 and will probably be home in October, pending an immediate hot streak. Historically, Buehler has been an animal in the postseason for the Dodgers and "knows their culture." If the Dodgers are still so desperate for starters by late July, why not bring back a guy they tried to keep in the first place?

Buehler's postseason dominance, and the fact that he closed out the World Series last year, could be a huge consideration for the Dodgers who, as Passan points out, were built more to conquer October rather than to rack up regular season wins.

And Buehler has looked okay on the mound this year, outside of a shoulder issue that kept him out for most of May. He had a 4.44 ERA in nine starts, which is at least better than his 6.02 ERA in his first nine starts last year, and was averaging around 5 1/3 innings per start entering Friday night, which is at least more than Clayton Kershaw and Roki Sasaki have been offering. Unfortunately, the Yankees raised his numbers in a flash to start the weekend, lighting him up for seven quick runs.

A reunion with Buehler might actually not be a terrible idea by the deadline, depending on how he's doing by then, and Dodgers fans would undoubtedly welcome him back to LA with open arms, even if it's just for a few months.