One of Major League Baseball’s top pitchers, Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale, could be done for the season.
That news comes Sunday after an MRI showed Sale has inflammation in his pitching elbow. The Red Sox will seek a second opinion, but if it confirms the diagnosis, Sale likely won’t pitch again in 2019.
That would obviously be a big blow for the defending champion Red Sox, who are mired in third place in the American League East Division and even trail by 6.5 games in the AL wild-card race.
The #RedSox today placed LHP Chris Sale on the 10-day injured list with left elbow inflammation, retroactive to August 14.
To fill Sale’s spot on the 25-man roster, the club recalled RHP Ryan Brasier from Triple-A Pawtucket.
— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 17, 2019
Hoping for better news
The Red Sox likely are sending Sale to visit famous Dr. James Andrews. The Birmingham, Alabama, doctor is an expert in the field — and also a harbinger that the elbow damage could be serious.
Red Sox general manager Dave Dombrowski said Sale felt stiffness after his start Tuesday in Cleveland — the night he became the fastest pitcher in history to 2,000 strikeouts — but didn’t tell anyone until three days later when the discomfort still hadn’t subsided. That’s when the team sent Sale for the first test and discovered the inflammation.
The visit to Andrews wouldn’t happen until Monday. Until then, Sale and the Red Sox will hope for the best.
“You always want to have second opinions. We’re all on the same page,” Dombrowski said, according to the Associated Press. “I don’t know if he’s going to see him or he’s going to look at the information.”
A sub-par season
In many ways, Sale’s disappointing year has mirrored that of the Red Sox. He was rocked in his Opening Day start against the last-place Mariners and struggled throughout April. The ace seemed to right the ship for a while but hasn’t been his dominant self.
Sale is 6-11 with a 4.40 ERA, well worse than his career mark of 3.03. He does have a solid 1.09 WHIP (career 1.04) and 218 strikeouts in 147-1/3 innings pitched.
Dombrowski said he wasn’t sure whether Sale would pitch again this season. If the ace southpaw is done, that means the Red Sox’s title defense probably is, too.
The #RedSox owe Chris Sale $145 million. Starting NEXT year.
Imagine Sale’s and Nathan Eovaldi’s contracts wind up being chief reasons Boston doesn’t pay Mookie Betts.
(Dustin Pedroia’s contract doesn’t help either, but that’s another story entirely.)
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) August 17, 2019
