It’s Almost Time For Chris Sale To Return To Red Sox, Alex Cora Believes

It’s almost time.

Red Sox ace Chris Sale on Saturday will get the start for Triple-A Worcester, and manager Alex Cora believes that will be the last time the star will pitch for a club other than Boston.

“I don’t want to say 100 percent, but the way things are trending, most likely, yeah,” Cora told reporters Tuesday when asked if Saturday would be Sale’s last rehab outing, according to Jason Mastrodonato of The Boston Herald.

Sale threw five innings for Worcester last Saturday and said the outing felt like his “first real day of work” since he suffered his injury and had Tommy John surgery in March 2020. After that appearance, Cora said he felt the star was “getting close” to a return.

Sale’s return could come at a crucial time for a Red Sox squad that fell out of first place in the American League East after being swept by the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend, which largely was due to a starting rotation that has struggled recently.

As laid out by MLB.com’s Ian Browne, Sale could make his 2021 debut as soon as Aug. 12 against Tampa.

And while that’s good news for the Red Sox, Sale might be bummed about returning to Boston — he’s been having a great time down in the minors.