Giants Have Another Chance To Steal 2-Time All-Star From Rivals

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Walker Buehler reacts yo a play in a playoff game against the Mets on October 16, 2024.

On Friday August 29, 2025, the Boston Red Sox released right-handed pitcher Walker Buehler, leaving any team (like the San Francisco Giants) free to sign him.

The Giants reportedly were interested in Buehler during the offseason before he signed with Boston.

Walker Buehler is one of the most established free-agent pitchers still on the board following his strong showing in October, and per sources, his reps looking for multi-year deal with opt-outs. Yankees had talked about him before Fried signed. Red Sox, Tigers, Giants, among…

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 12, 2024

From 2019-2021, Buehler was one of the best pitchers in baseball when healthy. He made the National League All-Star team in 2019 and ‘21.

His best season was 2021, when he made 33 starts for the rival Los Angeles Dodgers and recorded a stellar 16-4 record and a 2.47 ERA. He even finished fourth in National League Cy Young Award voting.

But he has struggled mightily in the past two seasons, with his ERA ballooning to 5.38 in 2024 with the Dodgers and 5.45 in 2025 with the Red Sox.

He did, however, record the final out of the 2024 World Series for Los Angeles.

Is Buehler A Fit For The Giants?

The Giants were initially considering Walker Buehler when it was unclear what their rotation looked like beyond aces Logan Webb and Robbie Ray.

Landen Roupp has emerged for the Giants since, and Justin Verlander has been a decent but unlucky free agent signing.

But the Giants could still kind of use Buehler. With Roupp on the IL for presumably the rest of the season, San Francisco has only 4 healthy starting pitchers on their active roster: Webb, Ray, Verlander and Carson Whisenhunt. As of right now, it’s unclear who they even plan to start Saturday afternoon against the Baltimore Orioles.

San Francisco also has very limited pitching depth. Their top pitching prospect other than Whisenhunt is Blade Tidwell, also injured. Kai-Wei Teng and Hayden Birdsong have not panned out this season.

At 31 years old, Buehler could be an answer for San Francisco not only for this season, but the near future.

Best case scenario, Buehler finally returns to form and San Francisco has a third ace with several years of his prime left on their hands.

Worst case scenario, he has a bad couple starts and the Giants cut ties with him at the end of the season. The Giants haven’t really found a better option to be their No. 5 starter anyway.

Buehler should also come relatively cheap, especially if the Giants are just aiming to sign him for the rest of the 2025 season. So why not take a flier on him?

The Rivalry Implications

If Buehler came to San Francisco and performed well in a Giants uniform, it would be extra sweet for Giants fans, because it would make Dodgers fans cringe.

The Dodgers had a long history in the 2010s of signing away iconic Giants players and twisting the knife in the hearts of Giants fans. Juan Uribe, Brian Wilson, Sergio Romo, the list goes on.

The Giants haven’t really returned the favor to the Dodgers in recent years. When they signed longtime Dodger Austin Barnes to a minor league contract earlier in the season, it was an intriguing move that many fans and insiders thought could help the team.

But Barnes was ultimately cut before he had the opportunity to play in the big leagues for the Giants. So signing Buehler, a Dodger great, would truly be a new phenomena. It could even be worth the psychological edge the Giants would gain on the Dodgers.

But what do you think, Giants fans? Should San Francisco sign Walker Buehler?

Ethan Inman is a sports journalist covering the San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Giants and Las Vegas Raiders for heavy.com. He also co-hosts a college football podcast for The Voice of College Football, and writes about the NBA and MLB. He has previously covered the USC Trojans, the NHL, college baseball, and the intersection of sports and popular culture for other publications. He is based in the greater Los Angeles area. More about Ethan Inman