Phillies add Walker Buehler ahead of playoffs after Red Sox release

The Phillies are adding a former starter just in time for the playoffs.

Walker Buehler, who was recently released by the Red Sox, agreed to a minor league deal with Philadelphia on Sunday.

He was assigned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

He’ll be eligible to play in the postseason for the Phillies, who are currently leading the NL East, and likely will win the division barring an incredible September surge by the Mets.

He would join a Phillies rotation that lost ace Zack Wheeler to season-ending thoracic outlet surgery and is seeing Aaron Nola pitch to a 6.27 ERA.

“We’re excited to have him because we think he makes us better,” Phillies president Dave Dombrowski said, according to the AP. “We’re trying to do anything we can to qualify for the postseason and then, if we make it, to do anything we can to win.”

Buehler, a former Dodgers standout, won two World Series with the franchise in 2020 and in 2024, playing a significant role for both teams.

The 31-year-old righty posted a 1.80 ERA in five postseason starts for the Dodgers en route to their 2020 title and a 3.60 ERA last postseason across four appearances — including three starts.

Since debuting in 2017 with the Dodgers, he has accumulated multiple 200-plus strikeout seasons and was an All-Star in 2019 and 2021.

The 2025 regular season saw Buehler posting a 5.45 ERA across 22 starts, with 84 strikeouts in 112 ⅓ innings pitched, while maintaining a 1.56 WHIP.

“We think we see some things that can hopefully help him,” Dombrowski said of Buehler. “He’s willing to work with us.”

He signed a $21 million contract in the offseason with the Red Sox.