Walker Buehler has NSFW response to assumptions of Dodgers IL manipulation

When Walker Buehler went back onto the IL in mid-June, after making eight starts that ranged from pretty good to downright bad, it stunk of a phantom IL situation. It came off the heels of a four-inning outing during which he gave up seven hits and seven runs (including two homers), hit a batter, and walked another while only striking out two.

He'd only been back for a month and some change, but his 5.84 ERA, shrinking strikeout rate, and growing walk rate was begging for another break, even if it meant incurring the wrath of MLB with a fabricated injury.

However, Buehler was characteristically indignant about the suggestion that the injury wasn't real. He said, "I had a hip problem. I think it’s kind of f—ed up that everyone assumed I didn’t have something."

Turns out, the hip injury could've been sustained all the way back in April, when he took a ball to the shin during a live BP session. It hit a nerve, which effected the way he landed on his foot coming out of his rotation, which forced him to put more stress on his hip.

He disappeared for a month, going away to a private complex in Florida with his family to rework his mechanics before returning and going on another rehab assignment before making his (second) return to LA on Wednesday night.

Walker Buehler cited a hip injury as the reason for his stilted first return to Dodgers

Unfortunately, Buehler's first start after coming off the IL again didn't exactly inspire confidence that his time away and second rehab stint did any good. On Wednesday, he pitched 3 1/3 innings against the Brewers, gave up four hits, and walked four batters. Four runs scored, but only one (a homer from Jake Bauers) was earned after three errors from Nick Ahmed, Kiké Hernández, and Mookie Betts.

So maybe it wasn't the best approximation of what Buehler can actually do after working out his problems a bit, but the walks and the home run are far from reassuring.

The Dodgers might just have to contend with the fact that Buehler has lost his touch. He was off the mound for almost two years and seemed to push himself much too hard trying to get back during that time.

Now is certainly not the time for any of this. With Wednesday's loss, LA fell back to just a 2.5-game lead over the Diamondbacks and Padres, both of whom are heating up at the worst possible time for the Dodgers. Maybe an actual phantom IL stint for Buehler should be on the table.