What we know is that Chris Sale will undergo Tommy John surgery on his left elbow.
What we don’t know, though, is just when that will take place.
The Red Sox on Thursday announced Sale indeed will have the procedure despite originally avoiding it after an MRI revealed a flexor strain.
Usually when a pitcher is set to undergo this surgery, it’s scheduled pretty quickly. However, due to the coronavirus outbreak sweeping through the United States, there still is no date just yet.
“We expect it to be fairly soon, but just mindful that it isn’t finalized yet and mindful of various confidentiality factors, that’s all we have right now,” chief baseball officer said Thursday during a conference call, via MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo. “Obviously, it’s something we’re mindful of. No. 1, the difficulties, generally, surrounding elective surgeries with what our country is going through and also making sure we’re able to do this in a way that doesn’t put any extra burden on the public health system. Those are definitely considerations as we work to get this set up and get this done.”
This also makes it difficult to determine a timetable for Sale to return to the mound. Generally, the recovery from Tommy John for a pitcher is anywhere between 12-18 months. And Bloom knows it won’t be “any easier” for Boston to compete in 2020 without its ace.
No one within the Red Sox organization has tested positive for COVID-19. But due to hospitals being flooded with patients, elective surgeries will have to wait for the time being.
