New Braves Starting Pitcher Looks To Be Fully Healthy In Spring Debut
The Atlanta Braves have a way of winning their trades.
And they may have pulled off yet another "heist".
Lefty veteran Chris Sale, acquired from the Boston Red Sox in a straight swap (plus cash) for infielder Vaughn Grissom, told us he was healthier than he's been in a long time when he met with the media after the deal, and repeated that same message as he reported for spring training.
Looks like he might have been right.
Making his Grapefruit League debut for Atlanta, Sale pitched two scoreless innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates in dominating fashion: no hits, no walks, and four strikeouts. Only two batters even put balls into play for the Pirates, with leftfielder Bryan Reynolds flying out to right field and third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes grounding out to short in the first inning.
Sale hit 95 and 97 mph with fastballs in the second inning as he struck out the side, flashing the slider and changeup to get two swinging strikeouts and a foul tip strikeout of a mostly-MLB laden Pirates roster.
For contrast, Sale averaged 93.9 mph on his fastball last season, per MLB Statcast, as he battled through a 60-day injured list stint for a stress reaction in his shoulder blade. Only three percent of Sale's fastballs (25 of 824) in 2023 clocked at 97 mph or higher. Despite the injuries, though, Sale pitched 102.2 innings in 2023, his highest single-season total since throwing 147.1 innings in 2019.
Sale's health has been the subject of speculation from fans and those outside Atlanta since the trade was announced. Atlanta quickly signed Sale to a two-year extension, locking him up for his age-35 and age-36 seasons while lowering his CBT hit and converting his 2025 vesting option into a 2026 club option.
The deal was considered a risk at the time, as Sale's missed significant time since the 2019 season, pitching just under 150 innings as a 2020 Tommy John surgery, a rib injury, and a broken finger all sidelined him.
But Sale told us after the trade that he was healthy "for the first time since 2018" and has not only had an offseason without rehab, he's been able to do a full throwing program. When he first spoke to the Atlanta media, the afternoon after the extension was officially signed, he was already at the Braves facility in North Port and had thrown a full bullpen prior to coming in to chat with the media.
And so, Atlanta's hopeful that their choice to acquire Sale over paying the reported asking price for Chicago White Sox ace Dylan Cease - one that president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos called "too expensive" at Braves Fest - will have dividends in October.
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