Red Sox Predicted To Cut Ties With Slumping $21 Million All-Star At Trade Deadline

Is this the end for the first-year Red Sox starter?

Sep 20, 2019; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; A detail view of Boston Red Sox hats and gloves at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images | Kim Klement-Imagn Images

It's been a dramatic month of June for the Boston Red Sox, but it's also turning into a very productive one.

Winners of eight of their last nine, the Red Sox are three games above .500 for the first time since Apr. 29. They're now 12-5 in June, a month that began with Garrett Crochet's dominant start in the series finale against the Atlanta Braves, which as it turns out, set the tone for the entire starting rotation.

Or at least, most of that rotation. Unfortunately, two-time All-Star Walker Buehler has been an exception. Buehler has allowed 16 earned runs in June in only 12 1/3 innings, ballooning his season ERA to 5.95.

Buehler hasn't performed up to his $21 million contract, and he knows it. The stuff isn't playing like it used to during his heyday with the Los Angeles Dodgers. And as the trade deadline approaches, one has to wonder what the next few weeks hold for the 30-year-old.

One baseball writer made a somber prediction. Jacob Levine of FanSided predicted Friday that Buehler "just spent his last June" with the team, and would be traded ahead of the Jul. 31 deadline.

"With a terrible June and the infamous trade of Rafael Devers for questionable returns, this may close the door on Buehler's time in Boston," Levine wrote.

"Unless he gets his stuff back and pitches like everyone knows how he can, it's most likely he'll be traded before the deadline sooner rather than later."

For all his struggles in the regular season since returning from Tommy John surgery in 2024, Buehler did come alive in October last year. He finished the postseason on a 13-inning scoreless streak, which dropped his career playoff ERA to 3.04 in 94 2/3 innings.

That's why the Red Sox signed Buehler--to pitch in October. But to get there, they need him to be better in July and August. And if something doesn't improve, one could see why Craig Breslow and the front office would want to pull the plug.

There's one other issue: If Buehler keeps pitching this poorly, which opposing team (aside from perhaps his old friends in LA) would want to roll the dice on him?

More MLB: Red Sox May Cut Ties With 7-Time All-Star At Trade Deadline, Per MLB Experts