Walker Buehler is a two-time All-Star, but has also had Tommy John surgery twice. He signed a one-year deal with Boston, hoping he can prove he is healthy and can be the dominant pitcher he was before the injury. John McCoy/Associated Press

If Walker Buehler had hit free agency after, say, the 2021 season when he posted a 2.47 ERA over 33 starts with the Dodgers, he likely would have commanded one of the biggest contracts for a pitcher in baseball history. That wasn’t the case. The 30-year-old’s first foray into the open market came at a much-different point in his career.

Buehler hit free agency for the first time this winter after missing nearly two full years due to Tommy John surgery, struggling to a 5.38 ERA in 16 starts for Los Angeles in the regular season and then re-establishing some value with 10 consecutive scoreless innings — including a 1-2-3 ninth to seal the World Series — to end his postseason. It was a complicated case for teams tantalized by Buehler’s track record and talent but worried about his health and recent inconsistent performance. And in the end, it was a process that ended with Buehler signing a one-year, prove-it deal with the Red Sox that will pay him $21.05 million in 2025 — as well as an opportunity to chase a mega-deal next winter if he pitches well.

“When you’re a rookie, you think free agency is going to be 30 teams calling and telling you exactly what they think and giving you an offer every day and raising that offer every other day and whatnot. But, that’s just not the way it goes,” Buehler said Friday on a Zoom call with reporters. “There’s a lot of talented players in this year’s class and I understand that.

“Also, there’s some different ways to look at my situation that our team (or agents) and I looked at. Do we do a multi-year (deal)? Do we do a one-year (deal)? Do we go somewhere we really want to? Do we go somewhere and try and help build it? For me, the one year in Boston and joining a winning franchise and a historical franchise and a team that has a real chance to win, I think, was the best option.”

Buehler didn’t receive anywhere close to the same guarantee as Max Fried ($218 million), Corbin Burnes ($210 million) or Blake Snell ($187 million) but will have the chance to impact Boston’s rotation in a similar way in 2025. Along with left-hander Garrett Crochet, the two-time All-Star will provide a new look to the front end of a Boston rotation that desperately needed upgrades this winter. As the offseason began, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow identified “raising the ceiling” of his rotation as a key winter priority. That became evident to Buehler as the team pitched him on coming to Boston, with Buehler being impressed by pitching coach Andrew Bailey’s individualized plan for him. His familiarity with the region from playing in the Cape Cod League in 2014, plus having numerous Vanderbilt teammates from New England, helped as well.

“It’s one of those places that you feel a little more tied to than others,” Buehler said. “For about three or four weeks before I ended up signing, I thought that was probably where I was going to go. I’m happy that it worked out that way.”

Buehler, who relies on a six-pitch mix and has increased the use of his cutter and curveball in recent seasons, was intrigued by Bailey’s philosophy that resulted in the Red Sox throwing the fewest four-seamers in baseball last season (”That may be the next evolution of my career,” he said.) After sharing a rotation with many older veterans since debuting in Los Angeles in 2017, he’s excited to pair with Lucas Giolito — someone he considers a friend already — to lead a rotation that projects to include Crochet, Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford, who are all 28 or younger.

“I’ve played in a place where I’ve always been the young guy and the up-and-coming guy and whatnot,” Buehler said. “At the end of the day, I think it’ll be fun to be on the other side of that coin. There’s a lot of young talent in Boston and a lot of major-league proven talent and a team that I think is ready and able to compete in the division and in the whole league. I’m very excited.”

He’s also encouraged that his greatest struggles are behind him. He underwent the second Tommy John surgery of his career in August 2022, didn’t return until May 6 of last season and was hit hard (6.09 ERA, 57 hits in 44 1/3 innings) in his first 10 starts back before settling down with a 4.35 ERA in his last five outings. The postseason, which started with a so-so outing in San Diego (6 ER, 7 H, 0 K in 5 innings) that Buehler felt was better than the line reflected, ended with four scoreless innings against the Mets in Game 3 of the NLCS, five scoreless innings in Game 3 of the World Series against the Yankees and finally, closing it out in Game 5. It was a small sample size, but Buehler hopes it’s also a springboard into 2025.

“Obviously, I wish it would have happened in June or whatever,” Buehler said,” but it happened at the most important time. Going into this year, having something that was such a big deal and so emotional and all of that, being able to look back on that, that helps your confidence a ton.

“It’s not some start that you felt really good in June wherever you were playing, right? It was the playoffs and the big boys. To know that I’m able to perform in that situation, I think is something that’s going to be huge for me going forward.”

The Red Sox have equal confidence that Buehler can rebound in a big way.

“When a season has gone as poorly as it can, and luckily you wrap a bow on it at the end, I think trying to go and prove it to myself as well as 29 other teams is something is appealing,” Buehler said. “At the same time, I think anytime you make a move from playing somewhere for seven years and go somewhere else, there’s obviously something behind that.

“Hopefully, I bring some value this year and get to play the rest of my career in Boston. But it all starts with me throwing the ball.”