What Alex Cora Has Noticed About Chris Sale After Injury Issues

After a frustrating few years for Chris Sale, Red Sox fans are seeing a new side of the star southpaw.

Sale was all smiles after his final spring training start Sunday afternoon at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Fla. The veteran left-hander, who was limited to 48 1/3 combined innings the last three seasons due to injuries, even cracked a self-deprecating joke about his health status after his latest outing, which surely had been a touchy subject for Sale dating back to the summer of 2019.

The lighthearted approach Sale recently has taken up hasn’t gone unnoticed by Red Sox manager Alex Cora.

“It seems like he’s enjoying the moment,” Cora told reporters, per MLB.com. “He’s taking it day by day. He’ll joke with it like he’s a bike ride away from going on the IL. That’s the way it works here. But he’ll be OK. We’re looking forward to Saturday, just go out there and just compete. An afternoon game at Fenway, hopefully the weather cooperates and it’s a good afternoon and we can enjoy it.”

Sale is set to start the Red Sox’s second game of the season, the middle contest of their three-game set against the Baltimore Orioles. Corey Kluber will get the ball for Boston on Thursday when the American League East rivals meet for an Opening Day clash.