Red Sox : Chris Sale is Healthy Film at Eleven

Between the first pitch of 2012 and the final out of the world series in 2018 Chris Sale was one of the most dominant forces in all of baseball. Sale finished each of those seasons in the top six in Cy Young voting, had an ERA that never touched 3.50 and lived in the mid to upper duces. He won 90 games over that small span of time on the hill, made seven trips to the All Star Game and won that aforementioned world series.

Since that wonderful night in October of 2018 those numbers for all intents and purposes have with the exception of his contract remained stagnant. That's about as nice as I can be here. In 2019 he battled elbow issues that led to Tommy John and his missing 2020 rehabbing, then the wheels came off. Literally. He struggled in 2021 making just nine starts in all year. In the postseason His performance was anything but Ace-like. He gave up 8 earned runs in nine innings of work spread out over three games in the ALDS and ALCS. people were wondering if the Red Sox had another Jack Clark on their hands. Sale began the 2022 season on the Sixty day DL ( we’ve been over this ) that with a “ non-baseball “ medical issue keeping him on the shelf until July. In his first start he put up a goose egg against the Rays in five innings of work. I'd like to leave it there but you know we can't, in his second outing Sale was drilled in the right hand and fractured his pinky. Back to the DL. then the mysterious bike injury that required surgery on his right wrist. All caught up ? good.

It's now 2023 and Chris Sale is healthy (Knocking on all the wood) headed into spring training. That's it, that's the tweet. The Sox are going to need a vintage 2017 type campagne from Sale this season. I'm talking 30 starts 200 strikeouts and some serious good luck when it comes to the injury bug if they want to compete this year. Is it too much to ask ? no not at all. Plenty of men have come back from TJ and returned to former glory. The Sox just need to do their part. Be patient early, maybe go six man rotation allowing Sale to build back up. Limit his innings and let this bullpen Chaim Bloom constructed to pull a little weight early on for the former Ace. Oh and ban bikes and flat screen TV’s that would be good too.

As always you can follow / give me grief on Twitter @TMurph27