The Red Sox announced starting pitcher Chris Sale indeed would undergo Tommy John surgery March 19, but the procedure had yet to be scheduled.
Boston on Monday, however, confirmed Sale underwent successful surgery that was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles after a two-week wait period. No other additional details were immediately available.
Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom held a conference call Monday night to shed more light on the southpaw’s procedure, including a timetable for recovery.
“We don’t know exactly,” Bloom said, per MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “Typically you see around that 14-15 month range.”
Bloom also noted some pitchers can come back before that timeline or it could take longer.
Sale won’t be throwing for “a while,” Providence Journal’s Bill Koch reported.
“A lot of the early work is range of motion stuff and keeping the body conditioned,” Bloom said, per Koch.
Major League Baseball currently is on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. There’s no set date as to if and when we will see Opening Day be played.
What we do know is that Sale won’t be on the mound in 2020. He could be back as early as the end of May, or it could be after the 2021 All-Star break. Only time will tell with how Sale’s recovery goes, but we’re sure he’ll be just as intense in his rehab as he is on the mound.
