The Braves are among clubs that are showing an interest in free agent starter Walker Buehler, according to MLB Network Jon Morosi.

This is about the least surprising news of the offseason for a couple of reasons. Firstly, of course, the Braves need to bolster the rotation. With Spencer Strider expected to be out for a portion of the season, along with Max Fried and Charlie Morton’s potential departures, Atlanta’s starting rotation has to be a focal point for Alex Anthopoulos.

That’s not even considering Chris Sale’s injury history, Reynaldo Lopez’s stamina issues, and Spencer Schwellenbach never throwing a full season’s worth of innings. It’s got to be a priority for Atlanta.

Secondly, this makes sense because of its value. Walker Buehler was once a premier starter in this league, a regular in the Cy Young conversation. From 2018-2021 with the Dodgers, Walker Buehler had a 2.82 ERA across 564 innings of work with a 27.7% strikeout rate and 6.1% walk rate.

However, that version of Buehler hasn’t been seen in years. After missing the entire 2023 campaign, he threw 75.1 innings with a 5.38 ERA and career-worst strikeout and walk rates of 18.6% and 8.1%, respectively.

However, he’s one more year removed from Tommy John, will enter the 2025 season following a normal offseason, and ended this past year on a high note. After getting rocked by the Padres in the NLDS, Walker Buehler threw ten scoreless innings, including the final three outs of the World Series.

This would be a high-reward free agent signing for the Braves. Buehler is likely to garner a one-year deal worth less than $20 million, but there’s a possibility he turns in a Cy Young-caliber campaign. After all, he’s only 30 years old and has all the incentive in the world to perform in 2025 to entice a club to give him a long-term lucrative deal next offseason.

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Photographer: Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire