Major League Baseball

Dodgers' Walker Buehler undergoes Tommy John surgery

Updated Aug. 23, 2022 7:15 p.m. ET

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The Los Angeles Dodgers might be without one of baseball's premier pitchers until 2024.

Star right-hander Walker Buehler announced on Instagram that he underwent Tommy John surgery on Tuesday.

Buehler, who'd already been ruled out for the remainder of this season, is expected to also miss most, if not all of 2023. The two-time All-Star was operated on by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who determined Tommy John was necessary amid the elbow surgery Buehler was scheduled to undergo Tuesday.

This marks Buehler's second Tommy John procedure — the first came shortly after the Dodgers drafted him in 2015 — which typically requires a longer recovery and therefore will likely sideline the 28-year-old for all of next season. Buehler made 12 starts for L.A. this season, holding a 6-3 record with a 4.02 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 58 strikeouts over 65 innings.

That production was a far cry from the previous few seasons, when Buehler emerged as the team's ace and was a dominant postseason performer. He boasts a 2.94 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 79.2 innings over 15 playoff starts, including a pair of wins in L.A.'s 2020 World Series run. 

The Dodgers, of course, are still in prime position to make another one, as they currently lead MLB at 84-37.

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