Phillies Officially Calling Up Walker Buehler to Start Friday Against Royals

The Philadelphia Phillies are making a move which has been expected for over a week now and calling up one of their new arms from the minor leagues.

According to an announcement from the team, Philadelphia is calling up right-hander Walker Buehler from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to start on Friday night against the Kansas City Royals in the series opener at Citizens Bank Park. In an interesting move, the team has moved reliever José Alvarado -- who is not eligible for the postseason -- to the injured list with a left forearm strain.

In the corresponding move to create room for Buehler on the 40-man roster, they have designated right-hander Matt Manning for assignment.

The 31-year-old Buehler made one appearance for Lehigh Valley after signing with the organization following his release from the Boston Red Sox, allowing one earned run and striking out five in just three innings pitched. Friday's start is going to be his 24th appearance of the season and 23rd start in a year where things have just not gone well for the veteran.

Buehler Has Been Complete Disaster This Season

Walker Buehler of Boston Red Sox throws pitch from right hand — Aug 8, 2025; San Diego, California, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Walker Buehler (0) delivers during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. | Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

Buehler signed a very lucrative one-year deal with Boston which would pay him $21 million, but he did not even come close to living up to that figure. The two-time All-Star had a 5.45 ERA and 1.558 WHIP with a record of 7-7. Those numbers alone were not all that horrific, but coupled with the worst strikeout and walk rates of his career, the Red Sox decided cutting ties was the better move.

Now, he gets a chance to press the reset button once again on his career and join his third team of the last calendar year, potentially proving that he still belongs in the big leagues and that this season was an outlier rather than an accurate showcase of what he is at this point in his career.

What Are Realistic Expectations for Buehler with Phillies?

Buehler has not been an elite pitcher for nearly half a decade since 2021, however this is the also the most he has pitched in a season since then as well. On top of that, he is less than a year removed from what was a very solid performance last postseason to help the Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series.

Barring something shocking, Buehler is not going to come in and light the world on fire, but if he can give Philadelphia some decent innings and be another option for the team to potentially go to in order to get outs in October, this will have been a phenomenal acquisition.