Chris Sale is making strides in his rehab.
The Boston Red Sox pitcher suffered a stress fracture in his ribcage just before the start of spring training. Sale then faced a setback, but appears on track to return this month.
Prior to the Red Sox’s eventual 7-2 win over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night, manager Alex Cora provided a positive update on the southpaw.
“Everything is going well,” Cora told reporters, per MassLive. “I spoke to Chris (Friday). He feels really good where he’s at.”
While nothing is set in stone just yet, Cora hinted that Sale could throw live batting practice next weekend if his next bullpen session goes well.
Getting Sale back into the fold certainly will be a boost for the Red Sox. Though he’s been a starter his entire Major League Baseball career, the Red Sox have not ruled out Sale being used out of the bullpen, where the team needs quite a bit of help.
Sale has been used out of the bullpen before, most notable in Game 6 of the 2018 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers when he struck out Manny Machado to claim the title.
