Padres Manager Not Ready to Commit to Walker Buehler Making Opening Day Roster

Walker Buehler looked like the Walker Buehler of old on Monday. Sort of.

In his third Cactus League start, Buehler looked like a new version of his former All-Star self, pitching five shutout innings against the San Francisco Giants. He allowed three hits and two walks while striking out seven, touching 94.4 mph on his fastball and adeptly mixing in his other pitches.

Buehler entered camp in a competition for the No. 5 spot in the San Diego Padres' starting rotation. With Joe Musgrove set to open the season on the injured list, there could potentially now be two spots open, with Buehler likely a favorite to take at least one of them.

Manager Craig Stammen wasn't ready to commit to that just yet, though.

“I mean you throw five shutout when it matters, that has something to say about it. We’re gonna keep doing the same thing, keep evaluating everybody. It’s not always about results in spring training," Stammen said when asked if Buehler has put himself in position to make the Opening Day roster.

Earlier in the day, Stammen had said he wanted to wait until the day before Opening Day to finalize any roster decisions.

"We'll probably pick spots [in our rotation] the day before Opening Day," Stammen said. "We're gonna be smart, we're gonna be patient and we're gonna try to make the best decision we can make with all the information."

But after the game, he made it known he was impressed by Buehler.

"You can only do with what you got to work with and he went out and threw five shutout like he should," Stammen said. "Proud of Walker, he did great today and look forward to his next outing.”

Buehler appears to be a favorite to make the roster as he's looking for a career renaissance after struggling since his second Tommy John surgery in 2022.

However, Buehler revealed this spring that he's finally pain-free in his elbow for the first time in years, and the results are beginning to show.

Buehler was an All-Star for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019 and 2021, emerging as one of baseball's best pitchers with a high-90s fastball and elite off-speed stuff. However, since his second Tommy John surgery, he's been in the mid-to-low 90s with his fastball, and has had to learn how to be a different type of pitcher.

Stammen is impressed with that transition from Buehler.

“He’s different in the fact that he’s not just throwing four-seamers and curveballs and sweepers. He’s got four, five, six pitches,” Stammen said. “He’s learning how to be a pitcher, which is cool to see because he was a thrower that was a pitcher back when we saw him with the Dodgers. … Now he’s learning how to pitch, mix speeds, throw it to both corners, throw it up, thrown it down.

"It’s kind of fun to see like a real pitcher, a guy evolve and show he’s got more tricks than just throwing hard and having elite stuff.”

Buehler, who joined the Padres on a minor league deal over an offer to return to the Philadelphia Phillies, would be somewhat of a saving grace for the San Diego rotation. With the uncertainty surrounding Musgrove and even Michael King and Nick Pivetta, it would be great for San Diego to have a reliable arm eating innings at the back of the rotation.

Buehler is confident he can be just that.

“I think 93-94 [mph] and kind of the some of the stuff I can do with the ball, I feel pretty confident about it," Buehler said.

As for his spot on the Opening Day roster?

"That's above my pay grade," he said.

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