Buckner will begin his first season with the Ducks and in the Atlantic League. He comes to Long Island with six years of Major League experience, having played with the Kansas City Royals (2007), Arizona Diamondbacks (2008-10), Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2013), and San Diego Padres (2014). During his time in the big leagues, the righty combined to go 7-12 with 114 strikeouts in 161 and one-third innings. Of his 44 appearances, 24 of them were starts.

He began the 2014 season with El Paso (AAA, Padres) before being called up to San Diego in May. The 31-year-old made one start against the Chicago Cubs, tossing five and two-thirds innings and striking out four batters. He was later signed by the Milwaukee Brewers and joined Nashville (AAA, Brewers) where he went 1-1 with 15 strikeouts in 12 innings. The Georgia native has an 80-74 career record with a 4.61 ERA in and 972 strikeouts in 236 games (213 starts). Buckner was originally drafted by the Royals in the second round of the 2004 amateur draft.