Chris Sale’s visit with Dr. James Andrews on Monday didn’t reveal any ligament damage in the star left-hander’s throwing elbow, Sale told reporters (including MLB.com’s Ian Browne) yesterday. For now, Sale will continue to rest following a platelet-rich plasma injection shot, and he’ll be re-evaluated in six weeks.
While any visit to Dr. Andrews is usually considered as an ominous sign by fans and pundits (and as a harbinger of possible Tommy John surgery), Sale described his diagnosis as “not great news, but about as good as we could get. We rest, I think maybe four to six weeks, get on a throwing program and get back to it.”
With the Red Sox sitting six games out of a wild card slot, postseason availability may be a moot point for the entire roster, though Sale in particular seems like a longshot for the playoff roster even if Boston does make a miracle run over the season’s final six weeks. It was already known that the PRP shot’s six-week recovery period would cost Sale the remainder of the regular season, and Sox manager Alex Cora told media that it would “probably…be almost impossible” for Sale to be ready to contribute in October.
This will mark the second straight year that Sale has been limited by a late-season injury, as shoulder issues limited him to just 17 innings from July 28, 2018 until the end of the 2018 regular season. It’s possible Sale could have pitched more if the Sox were in a pennant race rather than comfortably coasting to an AL East title, though even while cautiously deploying Sale during the playoff run, the lefty posted an uncharacteristically middling 4.11 ERA over 15 1/3 postseason innings.
All these injury questions loom large given that Sale’s five-year, $145MM extension with the team doesn’t begin until the start of the 2020 season. Sale fully expects to be ready for the start of the next season, though between Sale, David Price and Nathan Eovaldi, the Red Sox have $79MM in 2020 salary committed to three starters with checkered health histories.
Sale has a career-worst 4.40 ERA over 147 1/3 innings, though that ERA has largely been boosted by a career-high 19.5% home run rate. ERA predictors such as FIP (3.39), xFIP (2.94) and SIERA (3.00) paint a much more forgiving picture of the southpaw’s performance in 2019. His 13.32 K/9 is still elite, and Sale’s .283 xwOBA is in the 81st percentile of all pitchers. That said, Sale also has a 36% hard-hit ball rate, by far the highest of his career.
Is it too late to put him back up for sale?
Excellent
Unfortunately that ship has saled.
You were just waiting to unfurl that one.
Great pun!
DD should’ve saved that nearly $30M/year to go towards Mookie and potentially JD. Didn’t make much sense to extend Sale who barely pitched in the 2nd half and was used sparingly in the playoffs.
Six can afford to lose one of Betts/JD. I believe their offense could adjust. However, they need pitching badly
I’m a Red Sox fan and I think that if Mookie won’t sign long-term this fall they should trade him, And I wouldn’t offer JD Martinez another penny then the contract he agreed to last March There’s a lot of money coming off of the books at the end of this year so they should be able to afford pitching
Curious if any MLBTR readers have ever been offered a PRP shot when they go to the doctor about pain. I went a few weeks ago because my golf swing has been hurting my wrist, asked for a cortisone shot, and they told me to take advil. This was after they made me pay for an xray to tell me I didn’t have a broken wrist, which I already knew. Us regular folks should be able to get the good shots too.
I heard the PRP shot is like four grand.
I know I don’t have four grand lying around. I guess I’ll stick with the good old-fashioned Advil, haha
Doc told me the full procedure was around $8k for knee, Not covered by insurance.
You need a new doctor.
That said, a person should only take at most two
cortisone shots a year
because the side effects
can be deleterious. It
should be saved for
something serious. Of
course, if it is affecting
your golf game, that’s
serious!
Depends on where the cortisone is going. True, two to three times per year in a joint. Back or neck can be given much more often when they are just into the muscle for typical inflammation. They sometimes use ultrasound to locate where to administer the shot with the hope that it travels to where it’s needed. Can be hit or miss.
I get Cortizone shots in my back three times a year, four injections per treatment (8 weeks)
I told my doctor I had a issue in my elbow and he told me to quit being a pansy
Well, your username is Ironman…..so lol
Yes, I’d like to buy some Chris. When does this Sale start?
Do they take paypal?
There are so few pitchers who stay consistent and healthy through their careers anymore. Every one of them is a crap shoot. In 3 years, Sale has over 500 innings, 35 wins and a 3.08 ERA. Not too shabby.
True, but the gist of the posts so far has been health issues over the past 2 seasons preventing him from getting close to his regular 30+ starts and 200 innings and moreso pitching consistently over the. last 1/3rd of the last 2 seasons.. Is the wear and tear on his arm mounting?
Certainly reasons for concern given his decline over the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
The White Sox weren’t going to contend for any championships during Chris Sale’s final years of contract control on the southside of Chicago. They wisely traded him for a prospect package that included Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech to jump start their rebuild. Those two elite prospects will now help the White Sox vie for another World Series title as their window for contending begins in 2020.
Sale helped provide the Red Sox with yet another World Series title in 2018 before they inked him to a questionable 5 yrs/$145M contract extension that kicks in beginning next season which now looks like an even worse investment with his continuing arm problems just as his career hits the wrong side of 30 years old.
Bottom line: Good for Sale getting his first World Series ring in 2018. Good for the Red Sox in adding a fourth title to a run that began in 2004. Good for the White Sox in their pursuit of a second championship to match the one from 2005.
Your objectivity is refreshing and welcomed around here.
I agree completely. I was very worried about the trade when it happened but it’s definitely a win/win. It’s nice to see a trade of that magnitude work out for both sides. It feels like that’s rare.
I still feel that some sort of surgery Is very good possibility.
Classic Dombrowski – big contracts, prospect trades, and rotten bullpens.
And WS titles.
The core of the 2018 team was in place when DD arrived, much like Epstein riding Duquette’s framework. How’s Detroit doing now? He spent money. Traded prospects. Designed a rotten bullpen. My point stands. I appreciate the obvious point, though.
Yes but DD made some key trades to help forge that champion that Cherington would never of done. You can say what you want be he seems the only GM to have the balls to trade prospects to create a winner. Doesn’t always work but he’s not afraid to try.
Dombrowski won on Florida too. You are right about his blueprint for success though.
Wouldn’t be surprised to see the BoSox trade off the best of the rest remaining in their farm to get a big arm this offseason.
Duquette let Clemens walk instead of paying him. Could you imagine Clemens and Pedro on the same staff? Then if they still traded fo Schilling?
Maybe it’s because I was young at the time, but I’ve always thought of Duquette as not a good GM
As a pale hose fan I feel awful that he got stuck using some of his best and healthiest years on an absolutely awful team. He was something really special to watch who never really got a lot of coverage. He’d probably have a cy young or 2 if he didn’t have to do absolutely everything himself each time he pitched during those seasons (ie always having to try to make the perfect pitch because he got like 1 run of support and the defense suck.ed). I even had to root for Boston (shivers and throws up) last year so my boy could get a ring. Good luck Chris. Cant wait to see you fully healthy next year.
Glad I traded him in July in fantasy in my keeper league.
Two words. GARRETT RICHARDS. Sale will breakdown early 2020. He’ll then have the surgery he should have now. Back 2022. Truly, his best years are gone.
That’s funny, I never considered proper nouns to be words but I guess they are words.
That being said, although the peaks are not comparable, you are probably right. Sale won’t ever be a reliable top end starter again.
Gee, thanks professor
Apples and Oranges Richards had a confirmed torn ligament and was trying to avoid surgery. According to the article there is no structural damage, which is a torn ligament, in Sales case that can be detected. Obviously there is significant inflammation so let’s see what they see after the inflation. In Garret’s case they knew he had a torn ligament in Sales case that just isn’t true yet anything else is just speculation and not even close to the same situation that Richards faced.
Sale on, buy now pay later.
As a White Sox fan, I always had a dislike for Chris Sale. There was no denying Sale’s talent but he loved throwing his hard slider to rack up his strikeouts. Sale’s first half numbers proved his dominance than after July his arm started to get tired and he got rocked.
Prior to the White Sox trading Sale to the Red Sox, the White Sox pitching coach, Don Cooper, tried having him lay off sliders and focus on throwing a change up, especially to left handed batters. Sale always had issues with a team stacked with left handed batters. Sale could rack up 10 strike outs but will be at 100 plus pitches by the fifth inning where the bullpen came
in. Francona always stacked his line up with lefties when the White Sox played the Indians. I knew Sale’s days were done in Chicago after he threw his tantrums in 2016 in the club house. Needless to say, like most people I was surprised the Red Sox extended Sale this season knowing he had elbow issues.