The Atlanta Braves knew they were taking a risk when they acquired lefty ace Chris Sale from the Boston Red Sox during the 2023-2024 MLB offseason. One of only five active pitchers who ever recorded 300 or more strikeouts in one season, Sale had spent the previous five seasons riddled with injuries.
On Saturday, the seemingly inevitable occurred. Sale, who after a Cy Young-wining season in 2024 made it look like the trade had fully paid off, was placed on the 15-day injured list with fractured ribs.
Sale signed a two-year, $38 million contract with the Braves prior to this season.
The brutal injury comes at an especially tough time for the Braves and manager Brian Snitker. After seven straight playoff seasons including a World Series championship in 2021, the Braves have floundered for most of this season. But heading into Saturday they had won seven of their last 10 games to surge within five games of a playoff spot with 88 games remaining on he schedule.
Sale Was Pitching Lights-Out Ball Since End of April
Sale has been a key part of the resurgence. After a slow start to the season, Sale has been spectacular since the calendar flipped to May. His ERA is a flat 1.00 in 54 innings over eight starts in May and June. His 114 total strikeouts tie him for fifth in MLB. Sale on the season has fanned 30.8 percent of hitters facing him against a walk rate of just seven percent.
The Braves as of Saturday afternoon had not released full details on Sale’s injury, but it appears to have occurred when he dove to his left on a ground ball in the ninth inning of a game in which he lasted 8 2/3 innings of a shutout against the New York Mets on Thursday.
Snitker pulled Sale from the game with one out to go to finish off the complete-game shutout, but the 36-year-old, 15-year veteran said that he was not upset, and gave no indication that he was injured.
âI told (Snitker), âHey, you gave me a chance, and that’s all I really wanted,ââ Sale said after the game, as quoted by MLB.com. âI appreciated that.â
Red Sox Tenure Ruined by Multiple 60-Day IL Trips
Sale’s seven-year tenure with the Red Sox saw him on the mound for the final out of Boston’s 2018 World Series victory â but after that, and despite signing a five-year contract extension with the Red Sox after that season, his career with the team was effectively over.
After a 6-11 record and career-high 4.40 ERA, Sale’s 2019 season was cut short by elbow inflammation in August. By September, he was moved from the 15-day IL to the 60-day version. He underwent Tommy John surgery and did not pitch again until two years later, in August of 2021.
Despite optimism leading into the 2022 campaign, Sale suffered his first ribcage fracture during Spring Training and went back on the 60-day IL. Returning on July 12, he showed a sample of his old self, throwing five shutout innings against the Tampa Bay Rays. But as it turned out, his problems were far from over.
In his next start against the New York Yankees, Sale took a hard ground ball off of his pitching hand, breaking a finger. As if that wasn’t enough, as he was sidelined waiting for his pitching hand to heal, Sale broke his non-pitching wrist in a bicycle accident.
In 2023 it was Sale’s shoulder that put him on the 60-day IL once again, limiting his season to just 20 starts before he was dealt to the Braves after that season.
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