Former Dodgers Star Helped Padres Land One of Their Most Important Players This Year

The Padres discovered a bargain in their second-most used pitcher this season.

San Diego Padres pitcher Walker Buehler (10) is taken out of the game during the third inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on April 22, 2026. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

A.J. Ellis and Walker Buehler were barely teammates. Buehler was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the summer of 2015, but spent his first year in the organization rehabilitating from Tommy John surgery. Ellis was the Dodgers' backup catcher at the major league level.

The Dodgers traded Ellis to the Philadelphia Phillies in August 2016; two years later, he finished his playing career with the San Diego Padres. After retiring as a player, he joined the Padres' front office in February 2019. He's held various jobs in that capacity every since.

But Ellis still has connections within the Dodgers' organization. From 2017-22, Buehler became one of the best pitchers in the National League, making two All-Star teams and going 47-22 with a 3.27 ERA in Los Angeles. You didn't have to be inside the organization to appreciate Buehler at his peak, but it didn't hurt.

When Buehler was available to the Padres in free agency this past winter, Ellis' connections to the Dodgers reportedly came in handy.

"Through those relationships [Ellis] became convinced Buehler, who won two World Series rings, prioritized winning and was all-in on being open to change and a potentially different role," according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

So it was that Buehler was sold on signing a minor league deal with the Padres in February. The contract paid $1.5 million in the majors plus incentives. Compared to the one-year major league contract he signed with the Boston Red Sox the year before, Buehler was facing up to a $19.5 million pay cut — assuming he found a place in the Padres' season-opening rotation at all.

Flash forward to today. Buehler finished the regular season tied for the team lead in starts (32), was second in innings (153.2) and strikeouts (131), and figures to start Game 3 if the Padres' wild-card series against the Chicago Cubs necessitates it.

That's a bargain any way you slice it. Buehler's 4.63 ERA was the eighth-highest this season by any pitcher who threw 150 innings or more. SIERA, an advanced ERA estimator, placed Buehler (4.36) on par with Padres ace Michael King (4.39), suggesting batted-ball luck favored one pitcher significantly more than the other.

It wasn't vintage early-career Buehler, but the innings-eating version was exactly what the Padres needed this season. Casey Mize, Griffin Canning, Robbie Ray, German Marquez and Matt Waldron struggled mightily. Nick Pivetta, Lucas Giolito, and Joe Musgrove were unavailable to varying degrees.

Buehler closed out the 2024 World Series for the Dodgers with a scoreless inning in Game 5 against the New York Yankees. The Padres would love to see that version of Buehler show up in October again. He's already earned his 2026 salary even if he doesn't.

Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X/Twitter for the latest news.