Why Chris Sale's Expected To Bounce Back Next Season In Red Sox Rotation
One of the potential key pieces of the 2023 Boston Red Sox roster is considered to be an afterthought at this point given his extensive injury history over the last few years.
Chris Sale, barring a wildly unexpected decision, will opt into a two-year, $55 million deal this offseason, extending his time in a Red Sox uniform. While his injuries are typically random, frustrating, and make his awful contract look worse by the day, he's still a good player.
MLB.com's Will Leitch pegged Sale as the Red Sox candidate most likely to rebound after a lost season.
"It’s always a little bit of a roller coaster with Sale, but he ended up making only two starts this year... which gives him 11 since 2019," Leitch wrote Monday. "His luck can’t possibly get any worse -- can it?"
While the reason behind his analysis is quite somber, Leitch has a point. The southpaw, who leads Major League Baseball history in strikeouts per nine innings and strikeouts per walk, has plenty left in the tank entering his age 34 season.
In his 11 starts over the course of the last two seasons, Sale's posted a 3.17 ERA with a 57-to-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 48 1/3 innings pitched.
Sale should be an afterthought for Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom as he builds the roster due to the fact that he cannot be relied on. However, should Sale stay healthy throughout the offseason (no more bike riding) and spring training, he'll likely be a frontline starter.
There's going to need to be plenty of depth in the rotation given his recent injury history but the upside of Sale is an ace, and that should not be forgotten.
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