ESPN MLB insider Author of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports”
Right-hander Walker Buehler and the Boston Red Sox are in agreement on a one-year, $21.05 million contract, sources told ESPN, sending the pitcher who secured the final out of the World Series this year to a team loading up on starting pitching as it pivots toward contention.
The deal, first reported by Yahoo Sports, includes an additional $2.5 million in performance bonuses, sources said.
Buehler, a 30-year-old two-time All-Star who was among the game’s best starters from 2018 to 2021, was one of the most fascinating free agents this winter. After undergoing a second Tommy John surgery in 2022, Buehler returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers and allowed a 5.38 ERA in 16 starts.
He remained in the Dodgers’ postseason rotation and reinforced his previously established big-game bona fides, throwing four shutout innings in a National League Championship Series win, providing five more shutout innings in a World Series win and then returning on one day’s rest to lock down Los Angeles’ championship in the ninth inning of a wild Game 5 against the New York Yankees.
Boston hopes Buehler can be every bit as good this October. The Red Sox, who scored the ninth-most runs in baseball last year and have the three best hitting prospects in the game in outfielder Roman Anthony, infielder/outfielder Kristian Campbell and shortstop Marcelo Mayer, went into this winter seeking pitching. And though the shape of it materialized slowly, the Red Sox have managed to add high-upside pitching at a low financial cost.
A blockbuster trade landed them left-hander Garrett Crochet, who projects to be the Red Sox’s Opening Day starter for the next two years at low arbitration salaries. And they paid $18.25 million for two years of left-hander Patrick Sandoval, who is expected to return from Tommy John surgery around August.
Buehler carved a reputation as the best kind of bully on the mound — one who backs up elite stuff with presence and attitude to match. With a four-seam fastball that sat at 96-97 mph and regularly painted the four corners of the strike zone, Buehler could win games with his heater alone. He also happened to throw a cutter, curveball, slider, changeup and sinker, flummoxing hitters on the regular.
His best year came in 2021, a season after he helped lead the Dodgers to their first World Series title since 1988. Buehler went 16-4 with a 2.47 ERA in 207⅔ innings, striking out 212 and walking 52. He finished fourth in tightly contested NL Cy Young voting.
Elbow injuries sidelined Buehler for a chunk of 2022 before he underwent a Tommy John revision with a flexor repair. Players coming back from a second elbow reconstruction — Buehler had his first in 2015, right after the Dodgers chose him with the 24th overall pick — work on longer timetables than the typical Tommy John return. Buehler missed all of 2023 and returned in May of this year without his most explosive stuff. Before going on the injured list in June with right hip inflammation, he had struck out just 31 in 37 innings
When he returned in August, Buehler didn’t fare any better. Injuries to the Dodgers’ rotation reinforced that he was a vital part of their October plans. Over his career, he had put up a 2.94 ERA and struck out 101 in 79⅔ postseason innings. His performance in the 2024 playoffs looked far closer to vintage Buehler than he previously had shown, and his willingness to take a one-year deal rather than pursue a multiyear pact suggests Buehler likewise believes the postseason was merely a preview of what’s to come.
If Boston can get the best versions of Crochet and Buehler, as well as a healthy return from Sandoval, their pitching depth will be a distinct strength. The Red Sox also return right-handers Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford and Lucas Giolito, the latter of whom is also coming back from Tommy John surgery.
The trophy is awarded annually “to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League.” The award is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
The 21-year-old Hutson received the trophy at a surprise party his family had organized to celebrate his selection as a finalist.
Hutson led all rookies with 66 points, and his 60 assists tied the single-season NHL record for most by a rookie defenseman alongside Larry Murphy.
Celebrini, 18, played 70 games and scored 25 goals — second among rookies behind the Philadelphia Flyers‘ Matvei Michkov — and his 63 points tied with Michkov for second.
Wolf, 24, was 29-16-8 with a 2.64 goals-against average, .910 save percentage and three shutouts for the Flames, who selected him in the seventh round of the 2019 draft.
BOSTON — Marco Sturm got his first taste of the passionate Bruins fans when he was traded to Boston for No. 1 draft pick — and soon-to-be NHL MVP — Joe Thornton.
“I mean, it wasn’t my fault, right?” the former Bruins forward told chuckling reporters Tuesday at a news conference to introduce him as the team’s coach. “I got here, and it was difficult. I’m not going to lie. You read the paper or social media or even you go on the street, people will let you know, right?
“But also it pushes you. And I saw it in the positive way,” Sturm said. “I’ve got such good memories here. And I know the fans, as soon as they feel that there’s something good happening here, they will support you. I know that. It kind of goes the other way, too. But I don’t want to talk about that. I want to look forward.”
A three-time Olympian and first-round draft pick who played five of his 14 NHL seasons for the Bruins, Sturm led Germany to a silver medal at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and spent the next six years in the Los Angeles Kings organization, the last three as head coach of its AHL affiliate.
The 46-year-old former left wing replaces Joe Sacco, who finished the season as the interim coach after Jim Montgomery was fired in November. Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said that as the team tries to rebuild after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016 it was important to have a coach “who understands our fan base and values the same things — of being incredibly hard out each and every night.”
The Bruins marked the occasion with a news conference in their offices overlooking Causeway Street and the TD Garden. Former captain Patrice Bergeron, who assisted on Sturm’s overtime game winner in the 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway Park, was in the front row as a show of support. German chocolate cupcakes — a nod to the new coach’s heritage — were served.
Sturm said he never considered coaching while he played, but he started working with his own kids before getting the job as head coach and general manager of the German national team in 2015.
“And that’s where I really realized, ‘This is actually me,'” he said. “And that’s where I have passion. That’s where I’m good at. And then to go after that.”
He put his plans for family time on hold and spent six years living in Los Angeles, away from his wife and children.
“I was chasing my dream,” Sturm said, adding that the children, who are now 19 and 21, missed Boston since moving away. “My kids grew up there. They always wanted to come back. And here I am. Now they get their wish.”
Sturm said he wouldn’t have taken just any opening, but the Bruins presented a team that has strong goaltending in Jeremy Swayman and a solid core led by defenseman Charlie McAvoy and forward David Pastrnak that could push for the playoffs if it stays healthy. Boston also stockpiled draft picks and young talent from the midseason trade deadline purge that dealt several veterans — including Brad Marchand, the only remaining member of the Bruins’ 2011 Stanley Cup championship roster.
After posting 100-plus points in six straight non-pandemic-shortened seasons — including a Presidents’ Trophy in 2023, when they set NHL records of 65 wins and 135 points — the Bruins finished with 76 points this season; only three teams were worse.
“Every job — it doesn’t matter if you’re in Boston or not — will be a challenge. But it’s a good challenge. I love challenges,” Sturm said. “I know the expectations here. I know how it is. But as long as I’m putting my work and preparation in, I know I will be in good shape.”
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Edmonton Oilers defenseman Jake Walman was fined a total of $10,000 by the NHL on Tuesday for two separate incidents in their Game 3 loss to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final.
Walman was fined $5,000 for “an incident involving Florida’s bench” during the second period Monday night. Walman had his glove stolen by Panthers winger A.J. Greer, who deposited the glove into the benches. Walman responded by taking his water bottle and spraying a stream at Florida’s players while standing at his own bench, at least four times.
“Yeah, I mean I obviously did that for a reason. I won’t go into the details. It’s just gamesmanship, I guess,” Walman said after the 6-1 loss to Florida, which gave the Panthers a 2-1 series lead. “I’ve just got to realize there’s cameras everywhere and they see that stuff.”
Walman was also fined $5,000 for roughing Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk in the third period. He delivered a series of gloved punches to Tkachuk’s head while the Panthers winger’s arms were being held by Edmonton defenseman John Klingberg. Walman was assessed a pair of minor penalties for roughing as well as a minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The fines were the maximum allowed under the NHL collective bargaining agreement. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
The Oilers and Panthers combined for 140 penalty minutes in Game 3, the fourth-highest total in a Stanley Cup Final game. Center Leon Draisaitl called their third period, which featured 122 combined penalty minutes, “a UFC fight” between the teams.
“It was just penalty chaos tonight,” Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner said. “I’m not sure what I really make of it. I think you just see there’s a lot of emotions that are going into this. We’re trying to win a Cup. They’re trying to win a Cup. So there’s a fight.”
Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final is scheduled for Thursday night in Sunrise.