Padres Add Walker Buehler on Minor-League Deal with Spring Invite

Walker Buehler, the 31-year-old right-hander and two-time All-Star, has agreed to a one-year minor league contract with the San Diego Padres that includes a non-roster invitation to major-league spring training, MLB.com reported, noting the club had not confirmed the agreement and the signing is pending a physical. Reuters wrote Buehler “figures to compete for San Diego’s No. 5 starting job,” setting up a competitive spring in Peoria, Ariz.

The move lands amid a flurry of low-cost acquisitions by president of baseball operations A.J. Preller. The Athletic placed Buehler alongside Miguel Andújar, Griffin Canning, Nick Castellanos, Germán Márquez and Ty France as part of the club’s recent shopping spree, while MLB Trade Rumors observed San Diego “continues to stockpile potential back-end starters.” MLBTR also noted Buehler is an Excel Sports Management client and that settling for a non-roster invite “seemingly puts him a little behind” Canning and Márquez, who received big-league deals.

Buehler’s résumé still carries elite peaks. Reuters recapped his run with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2017-22, when he went 46-16 with a 3.02 ERA in 115 games (106 starts), and highlighted his postseason credentials — a 2-0 record with a save and a 0.75 ERA in three World Series games (two starts) and a 4-4 record with a 3.04 ERA in 19 postseason games (18 starts). The Athletic described him as “one of baseball’s top starters” at his peak, a reminder of the upside San Diego is chasing.

Injury and recent inconsistency explain why a veteran starter is coming on a minor league pact. The Athletic and Reuters both note Buehler missed the full 2023 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery for a second time and had a flexor tendon repair in 2022. After signing a one-year, $21.05 million deal with the Boston Red Sox last offseason, he was released in August following a 7-7 record and 5.45 ERA in 23 games (22 starts), then finished 2025 with the Philadelphia Phillies at 3-0 and a 0.66 ERA in three games (two starts); combined across 2024 and 2025 he went 11-13 with a 5.10 ERA in 42 games (40 starts), per Reuters.

The roster picture makes spring competition stark. MLB.com lists Michael King, Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove as rotation anchors, with Marco Gonzales, Germán Márquez, Triston McKenzie, JP Sears, Matt Waldron, Randy Vásquez and Buehler jockeying for back-of-the-rotation spots. MLBTR flagged Griffin Canning’s return from an Achilles tear and questioned his Opening Day availability, underscoring the Padres’ approach of layering veteran options behind established starters.

San Diego also added Ty France on a minor league deal with a spring invite, Reuters reported, with France, 31, reuniting with the team that drafted him in 2015. France hit .257 with seven home runs and 52 RBIs in 138 games in 2025 and owns a .262 career average with 81 home runs and 364 RBIs in 840 games, according to the Field Level Media recap; Reuters suggested France will likely be a reserve while Nick Castellanos gets the first crack at first base.

Fan reaction on the MLBTR thread was largely positive, with comments such as “Great signing” and “It wasn’t that long ago where Buehler was dominant in the playoffs and world series for the Dodgers,” reflecting optimism about a bounce-back. For now the immediate follow-up items are concrete: Buehler’s physical clearance, Padres’ official transaction confirmation, and how he performs in Peoria against the depth Preller has assembled — a sequence that will determine whether a former top starter resurfaces as a low-cost reclamation or heads to Triple-A depth.