Busy Day Sees Red Sox Lose Chris Sale For 2022, Add Veteran Reliever
Tuesday began with more bad news for Chris Sale and the Red Sox.
Boston announced that the southpaw will miss the remainder of the 2022 season after suffering a right wrist fracture in a bicycle accident on Saturday, Aug. 6. Sale underwent surgery on Monday and is expected to be ready for the start of spring training in 2023.
Sale, a seven-time All-Star, was already on the injured list after fracturing his pinkie finger on a comebacker earlier this season. The 33-year-old's career has been derailed by injuries the last few years, including Tommy John surgery and a stress reaction in his rib cage. Sale has only made 11 starts since missing the entire 2020 season.
“We need to dispatch some people to find whoever has the Chris Sale voodoo doll and recover it,” Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told reporters Tuesday, per MassLive.com's Chris Cotillo.
Sale was not the only injury update the Red Sox provided on Tuesday, as the team also placed right-hander Tanner Houck on the 15-day I.L. Houck is dealing with lower back inflammation; his I.L. stint is retroactive to Aug. 6.
Boston recalled righty Kaleb Ort from Triple-A Worcester to take Houck's spot on the major league roster.
The Red Sox also signed veteran reliever Jeurys Familia to a minor league deal, according to Cotillo. An 11-year-pro, Familia began the season with the Phillies after signing there as a free agent. However, the 32-year-old posted inflated numbers in Philadelphia's bullpen, including a 6.09 ERA over 34 innings.
The Phillies designated Familia for assignment and then released him last week.
While this year has been difficult for Familia, he began the season with a 3.28 ERA for his career. A Met on two separate occasions, he racked up 94 saves from 2015-2016. Familia was an All-Star in 2016.
