Padres sign a decorated ex-Dodgers starter for a much-needed rotation safety net

A.J. Preller is stocking the Padres’ camp with just enough plausible arms that nobody gets to feel comfortable. The latest lottery signing has a very specific kind of shine — the kind that’s been on the biggest stage — with San Diego adding Walker Buehler on a minor-league deal to compete for a rotation job. 

And yes, it is a safety net. Not a solution you build your whole season around, but the exact kind of depth move the Padres have needed to make for years. An experienced starter who has lived through pennant-race pressure and knows what October feels like.

Padres sign Walker Buehler in a calculated depth swing

On paper, the resume still pops. Buehler is 57–29 with a 3.52 ERA and 846 strikeouts in 839 2/3 innings across 157 games (146 starts). The Dodgers used to treat him like a cornerstone. A quick 2025 lap through Boston and Philadelphia later, he’s in Peoria on a prove-it track — fighting for a rotation spot instead of having one handed to him.

But here’s the part Padres fans need to keep front of mind: this isn’t a guarantee he even breaks camp. The Padres didn’t hand him a 40-man spot. They handed him a chance. He’s a non-roster invitee in a crowd that includes other back-end options, which is the point of this signing in the first place. 

That’s also where the leverage flips. If Buehler looks like a real starter again, great — you just found rotation stability without paying retail. If he doesn’t, the Padres aren’t married to anything.

And if the Padres don’t commit to carrying him, he can use an out clause late in spring to explore other opportunities. With his service time, that’s not bluff material — he’s the type of veteran who can simply turn around and hit free agency again rather than accept a stash-and-wait plan. (That’s the entire advantage veteran free agents have on minor-league deals: opt-outs exist so they can leave if the roster spot never comes.) 

Call it what it is: a much-needed rotation safety net with upside. The Padres didn’t buy certainty. They bought optionality. And in this spring, that might be the smartest thing on the board.