BOSTON – As the Red Sox welcomed top pitching prospect Payton Tolle to the Majors for his much-hyped big league debut against Pirates ace Paul Skenes on Friday, the club had to make a difficult corresponding roster move to fit their 22-year-old phenom onto the roster.
Veteran and two-time World Series champion Walker Buehler, one week after he was taken out of the starting rotation, was released.
“Really, really tough decision,” said Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. “He’s a guy who's been a really good starting pitcher in this league for a long time, struggled to stay on the field with injuries, but we felt like he could be a boost to our rotation. And then when it became clear that there was maybe a better opportunity for him to contribute from the 'pen, we made that move.
“And our hope and our expectation was, we were going to be able to provide enough runway to give him a chance to settle in and transition into that role and then contribute down the stretch in getting some meaningful outs for us. But circumstances changed, and we had [an injury with Richard] Fitts and losing that length piece in the 'pen and needing a starter tonight, it just felt like this was what was best for the team at this point.”
In a busy roster day, the Red Sox also recalled infielder/outfielder Nick Sogard from Triple-A Worcester and optioned outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia to Worcester.
Fresh off closing out the Yankees in Game 5 of last year’s World Series, Buehler signed a one-year, $21.05 million deal with the Red Sox for 2025 with a mutual option for '26. But the veteran righty struggled, going 7-7 with a 5.45 ERA in 23 games, including 22 starts.
Buehler made one relief appearance before his release, giving up two hits and two runs over 2 1/3 innings at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 24.
“At the time that we made that decision [to send him to the bullpen], we anticipated being able to give him plenty of time to get used to that role and to pitch his way into leverage spots," said Breslow. "Like I said, the circumstances around the roster had changed, and we made sure that we're thinking about best positioning this group to win as many games as possible down the stretch here.”
Typically in cases like this, a club will designate a player for assignment instead of granting him an unconditional release. But some of the motivation for proceeding in a more direct manner was to give Buehler a chance to hook on quicker with a new team.
“Just trying to be mindful and respectful of who he is and what he's accomplished, and felt like that was the fairest way to treat him at this point,” said Breslow.
Buehler was on pace for career lows in several statistics, including strikeouts per nine innings (6.7) and strikeout/walk ratio (1.53), which is what led to the club moving him to the bullpen.
But the 31-year-old also displayed flashes of brilliance as recently as Aug. 8 against the Padres, when he fired six scoreless innings.
“It's tough. But this is where we’re at right now,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “I had a good conversation with him today. And we’ll see what the future holds. I know it didn't go his way or our way, right? We expected more and he expected something more. But the player, the individual, the baseball knowledge [was impressive]. And I still think he has stuff in the tank. But I enjoyed being around him. I learned a lot from him and wish him nothing but the best.”
While the Red Sox are highly confident in their front three of Garrett Crochet, Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito, the four and five spots in the rotation have been less predictable due to injuries and performance.
Dustin May (acquired at the Trade Deadline) and Tolle will fill those roles for now.
“We're playing important games, and want to give ourselves every opportunity to win as many of those as possible, and we think that Payton and Dustin give us the best chance to do that right now,” said Breslow.
It has been a swift ascension to prime time for Tolle, who started the season at High-A Greenville, got promoted to Double-A Portland on June 24 and pitched his way to Triple-A Worcester on Aug. 6.
“I think we brought up Payton with the expectation that he's going to be able to contribute down the stretch for us, and exactly what that looks like is to be determined,” Breslow said. “But I think over the last four, five months, he's really impressed at every level. He’s made significant strides in terms of his development, and we have every reason to believe that he can be a very good Major League starting pitcher.”