Chris Sale Putting ‘Tougher Times’ Behind In 2023 With Red Sox

Chris Sale made his long-awaited return to the mound for the Boston Red Sox, making an exhibition appearance Monday at spring training.

The southpaw remains in the process of recovering from a brutal ending to 2022. While the Red Sox struggled to avoid the injured list, Sale similarly ran into trouble on the health side.

Sale didn’t make an appearance until July 12 against the Tampa Bay Rays after missing Boston’s first 87 games. And it wouldn’t be long until Sale was sidelined once again, taking a line drive to his pinky against the New York Yankees, then suffering a wrist injury after falling off his bike during rehab, which ended his year.

To put it simply, luck wasn’t on Sale’s side last season.

But the seven-time All-Star is looking ahead. During his spring training debut, Sale pitched two scoreless innings against the Detroit Tigers, allowing two hits and striking out two.

“Today was a good day,” Sale told reporters, according to Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe. “Felt good. Anytime you can throw a couple of zeroes, it’s a good thing. Nice to get that first one out of the way.”

In the last two seasons combined, Sale has battled an unfavorable test of patience. He’s made just 11 starts after three consecutive 25-plus-start seasons to begin his Boston tenure.

Sale elected to opt into the final two years remaining on his five-year, $145 million contract with the Red Sox back in November. And working his way back to the ace-like form fans were accustomed to upon his arrival to Boston in 2017, hasn’t been easy Sale acknowledged.

“I’m a baseball player. I’ve done this my whole life and that got taken away for quite a while,” Sale said. “It was frustrating. There are tougher times to be had, but I went through a tough time.”