Dodgers' All-Star Pitcher Has No Timetable for Return from IL

Sam Garcia | Jul 11, 2024

Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports

Shortly after returning from his second Tommy John surgery and a hip flexor tendon repair, Dodgers’ Walker Buehler has found himself back on the 15-day injured list, this time with a hip injury.

There is currently no clear date for Buehler’s return to the mound, manager Dave Roberts told reporters in Philadelphia, including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. 

“We don’t have a time of when he’s going to come back and start for us. Our hope is – obviously it’s going to be after the break, but I don’t really know when that is. I don’t” 

- Dave Roberts, via Orange County Register

Buehler was placed on the 15-day injured list in March, giving him more time to recover from a 2022 surgery on his right elbow. Buehler split his time between Triple-A Oklahoma City and advanced Class-A Rancho Cucamonga on his rehab assignment. On May 6, he was activated but quickly found himself back on the 15-day injured list on June 19 with right hip inflammation.

The right-hander decided to leave Los Angeles to tend to his hip injury away from the Dodgers organization, a decision that the franchise supports, according to Roberts via The Orange County Register. 

Buehler is working through his injury at Cressey Sports Performance in Florida, throwing bullpen sessions there while being in communication with Dodgers’ pitching coaches, according to the Register.

“My expectation is that there’s progress. But again, I can’t speak to the delivery or where he’s at.”

- Dave Roberts, The Orange County Register

After his return from IL in May, the two-time NL All-Star had eight starts with a 1-4 record. Across 37 innings, he posted a 5.84 ERA with 10 walks and 31 strikeouts. Buehler has a 1.51 WHIP, 18.5 percent strikeout rate and 6 percent walk rate with batters averaging .297 against him.

Buehler is joined by starting pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Emmett Sheehan, and Tony Gonsolin on the Dodgers’ IL.