Red Sox’s Chris Sale ‘A Lot Stronger’ Now Than He Was Few Seasons Ago

Chris Sale is doing it all through his rehab from Tommy John surgery.

The Boston Red Sox pitcher began his rehab assignment Thursday afternoon with the Florida Complex League. Sale struck out five batters over three scoreless innings of work and told manager Alex Cora he felt great afterward.

As we all know, the day after throwing is incredibly important, and Cora provided an update on Sale prior to Boston’s game against the New York Yankees on Friday night. But the Red Sox manager also noted the southpaw has made adjustments when it comes to his physical health.

“Really good. Really good. I texted with him this morning, he felt great physically,” Cora told reporters over Zoom. “Everything went well. He’s really excited, like I said yesterday. The way he’s been able to come back on a daily basis is something that, it’s not that he’s surprised, he’s made some adjustments as far as his nutrition and his workouts and all that. He’s actually a lot stronger now than what he was a few years ago, and he’s very excited with that. If everything goes as planned he’ll be on the mound again on Tuesday in Portland.”

The plan always has been for Sale to pitch five innings during his rehab, and that still is the case despite his strong outing Thursday.

“100 percent,” Cora said when asked if five innings still was in the cards.

Fans likely will be anxious for another Sale update Tuesday and Wednesday. But the good news is that he is progressing positively every day.