Walker Buehler sends bittersweet Christmas message to Dodgers fans opening presents

Although a deal has yet to be finalized, Dodgers fans said goodbye to Walker Buehler on Dec. 23, after reports of his one-year, $21.05 million deal with the Red Sox hit Twitter. Buehler's departure was widely expected after the Dodgers signed Blake Snell, packing the 2025 rotation with seven viable starters, but it was still hard for fans to say goodbye to a homegrown hero.

Two days later on Christmas morning, as some fans unwrapped their gifts to find Buehler's No. 21 jerseys, he posted a now-deleted response to anyone who might be disappointed that they got a jersey for a departed player, or anyone who was still coping with the loss.

He wrote on Twitter, "The #21 Dodgers unis you guys got today are still cool! I’m gonna wear a different one next year but I appreciate y’all rockin em nonetheless!”

Walker Buehler breaks silence on new Red Sox deal as Dodgers fans receive his jersey for Christmas

It's unclear why Buehler deleted that post, but it's probably because the deal hasn't been made official yet. It's still pending a physical, but it also makes sense if things have been held up a little over the holidays.

Buehler is the latest free agent to join the Red Sox after a respectable offseason (a lot better than their last one, at least, though they set a low bar for themselves in 2023), which has included signing Buehler and trading for Garrett Crochet. Boston also expects to get Lucas Giolito back in the rotation after a year lost to injury.

The Dodgers' seven options for the rotation next season are Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin, and Dustin May. Kershaw has yet to be officially re-signed, and both Ohtani and May are unlikely to be ready by Opening Day, but it would be hard for the Dodgers to fit in another starter, even for the interim.

Buehler's future with another team was basically set in stone when Snell joined, but there's still a lot of (understandable and deserved) sentimentality attached to Buehler and No. 21. He won't pitch at Dodger Stadium next regular season (the Dodgers and Red Sox's single series in 2025 will take place at Fenway), but those jerseys will be good to have on hand when he eventually makes his return.