Boston ace Chris Sale is ready to be 34 years outdated in 2023. He has a profession 3.03 ERA and is the all-time chief in strikeouts per 9 innings and strikeout-to-walk ratio. From 2013 to 2018, Sale by no means completed worse than fifth in AL Cy Young voting. He’s additionally pitched solely 48.1 innings for the reason that begin of 2020 — has fallen sufferer to a number of nasty accidents preserving him off the sphere for the majority of the final three seasons. Tommy John surgical procedure price him all of 2020 and most of 2021. 2022 noticed Sale begin on the IL with a rib stress fracture, and after returning for a quick stint, Sale missed the rest of the season with a damaged pinky from a comebacker and later a damaged wrist from a bicycle accident.
In Sale’s restricted time on the mound over the past three years, he’s proven indicators of returning to kind, going 5-2 and holding a 3.17 ERA, nevertheless it’s been very restricted publicity, plus different underlying stats like his 3.54 FIP, 1.303 WHIP, and decreased strikeout fee has raised concern as nicely. Still, Sale’s potential can’t be understated, and with the Red Sox seemingly going right into a rebuild, having allowed stars like Xander Bogaerts, JD Martinez, and Nathan Eovaldi to stroll away in free company. Although the Red Sox have made up for a few of these losses with the additions of nearer Kenley Jansen, former Cy Young winner Corey Kluber, and Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida, it’s clear the workforce isn’t aiming to compete in 2022 the identical approach it did in years previous, and with that, maybe the commerce block is one of the best ways to maneuver Boston ahead. Boston’s chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom mentioned as a lot after the workforce misplaced Bogaerts to the Padres, telling The Athletic, “I actually think the trade market could be a really good route to adding impact to our club.” The first title on the chopping block may very nicely be Sale.
Heyman reminds us that Sale has a whole no-trade clause, so ought to the Red Sox wish to ship Sale away, it must be to a workforce that Sale approves of, which in all probability could be a contender.
But would a contending workforce be prepared to threat prospects for an getting older pitcher who can’t keep wholesome? Probably rather a lot truly. Given the accidents Sale has sustained most lately, it’s straightforward to imagine that he received’t undergo comparable illnesses sooner or later. A comebacker that broke his pinky? That’s a fluke. A motorcycle accident? He’ll most likely put on wristguards subsequent time. It jogs my memory of when individuals thought-about Keenan Allen an injury-prone receiver after he suffered a lacerated kidney in 2015. Yes, he tore his ACL the next yr, however the unlucky timing of struggling these accidents one proper after one other satisfied a number of NFL followers that Allen wasn’t a sturdy commodity. Well, he solely missed three video games over the course of the subsequent 5 seasons.
Sale may very nicely be in an analogous boat. Sure, he’s a decade older than Allen was, however with prime age for pitchers regularly trending upward, Sale seemingly nonetheless has a number of good years left in him. For a workforce in win-now mode, Sale — who has two extra years left on his contract — might be a dangerous endeavor with a excessive upside, and if it doesn’t work out, he’ll be gone in two seasons.
With that mentioned, the San Diego Padres are the primary workforce that makes loads of sense. With the Dodgers shedding a number of key items this offseason, there’s by no means been a warmer iron value putting within the NL West. They’ve proven a need to go all-in for a World Series with the additions of Xander Bogaerts and Juan Soto, and have expressed a need to enhance their beginning rotation. Although they’ve reportedly been extra excited by buying and selling for/signing younger arms to long-term offers, Sale is a possible short-term resolution to a rotation that at the moment incorporates just one lefty — Blake Snell.
The Cardinals and Astros are two different groups that might make a transfer for Sale. With the lack of Verlander, the Astros will certainly be out there for a top-tier arm in an effort to enhance their title protection. Meanwhile, the Cardinals, who’ve a plethora of commerce chips {that a} rebuilding workforce just like the Red Sox could be excited by and simply signed their subsequent franchise backstop in Willson Contreras, might be excited by creating their subsequent nice battery duo.
A high-end southpaw is tough to come back throughout these days, and Sale has the potential to right away make any workforce’s rotation among the best within the league. However, together with his no-trade clause complicating issues, the commerce companions are most likely restricted to big-market contenders. Surely, some workforce might be prepared to take a swing on Sale, and I’d be prepared to guess, barring one other unfortunate damage, that workforce might be pleasantly shocked.