Boston Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale to miss first 60 days of season with rib injury
Boston Red Sox fans are gearing up for Thursday’s 2022 season opener, but received sobering news from the team days in advance. The Red Sox announced Monday that left-handed pitcher Chris Sale, considered Boston’s starting ace when he was on the 60-day injured list with a stress fracture in his right rib. On March 16, Red Sox baseball chief Chaim Bloom said Sale suffered a stress fracture while pitching on February 24, while the MLB lockdown was still in place. That announcement, Bloom said Sale wouldn’t be ready in time for the start of the season, but didn’t say how long the injury would keep the pitcher out. Sale said the injury, which he called an “abnormal incident”, affects the eighth rib on his right side. At first he said he thought nothing of it. “I was hosting a live session at (Florida Gulf Coast University). It was a Thursday. After that, I felt a little, you know, discomfort-wise, nothing too crazy,” Sale said. The rib injury, however, kept the 33-year-old out of action for over a month. Now that he’s on the 60-day IL, Sale needs to stay on that roster for at least the first 60 days of the regular season. Sale has struggled with injuries in recent seasons. He underwent Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020, repairing the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm on March 30, 2020. After returning to the Red Sox in August 2021, he went 5-1 with a 3.16 ERA for the season. Sale has a career win-loss record of 114-74 with a 3.03 ERA and 2,059 strikeouts. In four seasons on the court with the Red Sox, Sale made two All-Star teams and helped Boston win a World Series championship in 2018. Sale also told reporters on March 14 that he was unvaccinated against the COVID-19. Players who are not vaccinated cannot travel to Toronto for games and, under the new CBA, will not be paid for those games.
Boston Red Sox fans are gearing up for the 2022 season opener on Thursday, but received sobering news from the team days in advance.
The Red Sox announced Monday that left-handed pitcher Chris Sale, considered Boston’s starting ace when he was fully healthy, was placed on the 60-day injured list with a stress fracture in his right rib.
On March 16, Red Sox baseball manager Chaim Bloom said Sale suffered a stress fracture on a Feb. 24 pitch while the MLB lockdown was still in place.
During that announcement, Bloom said Sale wouldn’t be ready in time for the start of the season, but didn’t say how long the injury would keep the pitcher out.
Sale said the injury, which he called an “abnormal incident”, affects the eighth rib on his right side. At first he said he thought nothing of it.
“I was having a live session at (Florida Gulf Coast University). It was on a Thursday. After that, I felt a little, you know, sideways discomfort, nothing too crazy,” Sale said.
The rib injury, however, kept the 33-year-old out of action for over a month. Now that he’s on the 60-day IL, Sale needs to stay on that roster for at least the first 60 days of the regular season.
Sale has struggled with injuries over the past few seasons.
He underwent Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020 to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm on March 30, 2020. After returning to the Red Sox in August 2021, he went 5-1 with a 3.16 ERA for the season.
Sale has a career win-loss record of 114-74 with a 3.03 ERA and 2,059 strikeouts.
In four seasons on the court with the Red Sox, Sale made two All-Star teams and helped Boston win a World Series championship in 2018.
Sale also told reporters on March 14 that he was not vaccinated against COVID-19. Players who are not vaccinated cannot travel to Toronto for games and, under the new CBA, will not be paid for those games.