World Series Champion pitcher named ideal fit for Guardians

In an ideal world, the Cleveland Guardians would be willing to shell out the money required to sign one of the top free agent pitchers on the market and solidify their rotation. Unfortunately, that is not the case, as the Guardians usually shop in the discounted section of the free agent market. With that being said, there is a potential free agent match for Cleveland in two-time World Series-winning pitcher Walker Buehler.

The 2024 season was a trying one for Buehler despite being part of a Los Angeles Dodgers team that won the World Series. Buehler was looking to reestablish himself after missing all of 2023 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in August of 2022. Unfortunately, Buehler struggled in 2024, finishing the year with a 5.38 ERA, 1.553 WHIP, and 7.6 strikeouts per nine innings. This was far away from his peak performance from 2018-2021, where he compiled a 2.82 ERA, 0.989 WHIP, and 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings.

Even though Buehler struggled last season and his injury history is not the best, MLB.com's Brian Murphy believes the Guardians would be wise to pursue his services, "Cleveland has a history of kicking the tires on pitchers with injury concerns -- it brought on Cobb and Matthew Boyd during last season -- and Buehler should still have plenty of upside at age 30. Plus, he should come at a price that is well within the Guardians' means.".

This is sound logic for a short-term agreement between Buehler and Cleveland. As noted by Murphy, the Guardians took chances on Matthew Boyd and Alex Cobb last season, with the former delivering outstanding results and the latter leaving something to be desired. Additionally, may not require a large financial commitment and may take a one-year prove-it deal to restore his value. Spotrac projects Buehler's market value to be just under $3.9 million, and that just so happens to be in the Guardians' price range. Even if Buehler were to desire a larger salary than his projected market value for one year, it is not out of Cleveland's spending comfort zone and should seriously be considered if the Guardians are looking to go further into the playoffs in 2025.