3 teams who should pay Walker Buehler a whole lot of money after his Game 3 gem

What a difference a few weeks can make. In September, Walker Buehler seemed to be at a crossroads. He finally made it back from a second Tommy John surgery, but he looked like a shell of himself for most 2024, pitching to a 5.38 ERA and a 7.6 K/9 over 16 starts in the regular season. It was an open question whether he'd ever resemble the budding ace who earned Cy Young Award votes in 2019 and 2021; heck, it was an open question whether he'd ever be a league-average starter again. With free agency looming, the best he could seemingly hope for was a one-year prove-it deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers to try and rebuild his market in 2025.

And then the postseason happened. Things got off to a bit of a rough start: Buehler gave up six runs on seven hits over five innings in an NLDS loss to the San Diego Padres (although it's worth noting that a lot of that damage came on some pretty fluky batted-ball luck). But the stuff was looking better, and from that point on, the righty took off. He was great over four innings of work against a red-hot New York Mets lineup in Game 3 of the NLCS, pitching L.A. to a crucial, momentum-shifting win. And he saved his best for the biggest stage: Facing a raucous Yankee Stadium crowd in Game 3 of the World Series, Buehler turned back the clock, allowing just two hits over five shutout innings.

Suddenly, it was 2021 all over again: the fastball with late life, the razor-blade cutter, the wipeout curveball; this was the Buehler who was one of the best young pitchers in the sport not so long ago, right on time to help the Dodgers capture a title. It's also right on time for Buehler personally: Days away from hitting the open market, the right-hander has turned himself into a hot commodity for pitching-needy teams. Injury risk aside, here are three who should be willing to hand him a multi-year deal.

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3. Minnesota Twins

Minnesota has established itself as one of the best pitcher development organizations in the sport, and Buehler feels like exactly the sort of arm they help find another gear. He also makes a lot of sense from a team-building perspective: The Twins need to add depth behind Pablo Lopez and Bailey Ober, particularly with Joe Ryan coming back from injury, but they don't expect to have a ton of money to work with. Buehler offers front-end upside for back-end prices, and if he hits, he could be a game-changer as Minnesota tries to unseat the Cleveland Guardians atop the AL Central.

2. New York Mets

With Sean Manaea and Luis Severino hitting free agency, the Mets need to add not just one but multiple starters, and they saw first-hand just how good Buehler can be when he's locked in. New York might not be able to afford top-end options like Max Fried or Corbin Burnes — they'll have more pressing uses for their money — but Buehler could represent a real steal, the opportunity to significantly upgrade their pitching while still shelling out for the likes of Juan Soto and/or Pete Alonso.

1. Detroit Tigers

It's time, Tigers. That magical run to the ALDS signalled the end of the rebuild in Detroit, and now Scott Harris and Co. should have their sights set on spending big in hopes of assembling a real contender in 2025. That starts with the rotation: The Tigers had exactly no one behind Tarik Skubal by the time the postseason rolled around, and while we love seeing A.J. Hinch cobble together bullpen games as much as anyone, that's hardly sustainable over the long haul. Fried, Burnes and Blake Snell might not be attainable, but Buehler could recreate most of their production for a fraction of the cost, and he's the sort of player that Detroit might be able to entice by overpaying a bit.