Walker Buehler Could Elect to Leave Padres Organization Before Opening Day

The San Diego Padres took a chance on Walker Buehler in February, signing him to a minor league deal.

The former Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star said he chose the Padres over an opportunity to return to the Philadelphia Phillies — the team he finished the 2025 season with.

Buehler hasn't been the same pitcher since the second Tommy John surgery of his career in 2022. However, he revealed he's feeling pain-free for the first time in years, and is currently competing for the No. 5 spot in the Padres' Opening Day rotation.

Buehler is competing with German Márquez, Marco Gonzales, JP Sears and Triston McKenzie for the final spot in the rotation. At some point early in the season, Matt Waldron and Griffin Canning will enter the mix, too.

If Buehler doesn't win the job, though, he has a chance to leave the Padres organization. Since he has six years of service time and finished last year on a team's 40-man roster, Buehler can opt out of his minor league contract on March 21 if he's not on the team's big league roster. He also has opportunities to opt out on May 1 and June 1.

Buehler's contract will pay him $1.5 million if he's on the Major League roster. He could earn another $2.5 million in bonuses based on time spent on the active roster. First, he has to get there, though.

Buehler has made one Cactus League appearance thus far, pitching three innings and allowing two runs with four strikeouts. His velocity hit 95 mph, and he mixed his pitches well.

“Feeling healthy and feeling like I can go and execute and go get people out, as opposed to trying to get them to get themselves out, I think is a big mentality switch for me,” Buehler said after the start. “A lot of that is just feeling healthy and feeling like myself.”

He added: “I think in years past, I just was kind of stuck in this rehab-ish throw and have had a really tough time getting out of it. I had a really good offseason, and I’ve had a really good spring training in terms of kind of talking through the delivery and getting my arm back up to the height that I want it to be. … I don’t think you can force that kind of stuff. I think the delivery has to do it, and I feel good with where that all is right now. So now we’re kind of refining and hoping to get a few miles an hour out of it.”

Buehler's biggest competition is likely Márquez, who's on a Major League contract and would need to consent to a minor league assignment. If Buehler continues to impress, though, there could be another team waiting to give him a Major League opportunity if the Padres don't.

Buehler is coming off a 2025 season split between the Boston Red Sox and Phillies in which he pitched 126 innings, sporting a 4.93 ERA with 92 strikeouts to 61 walks.

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