Open To Anything? Examining Chris Sale’s Role Upon Red Sox Return

If there’s one positive to come from Chris Sale’s horrendous stretch of injury luck, it’s that he and the Boston Red Sox no longer have anything to lose.

Sale signed a five-year extension with Boston ahead of 2019, tying him to the franchise through at least the 2024 season. It was a fairly large financial commitment from the Red Sox that has been largely unfulfilled due to the aforementioned injuries. If you’re unaware, here’s how the 34-year-old’s seasons have gone since putting pen to paper.

Chris Sale
2019: 25 G, 147.1 IP, 4.40 ERA
2020: (missed season)
2021: 9 G, 42.2 IP, 3.16 ERA (two IL stints)
2022: 2 G, 5.2 IP, 3.18 ERA (two IL stints)
2023: 11 G, 59 IP, 4.58 ERA (one IL stint)

That’s not exactly ideal. Sale’s combined ERA in the last five seasons (4.21) is lower than the number of times he’s been placed on the injured list (six). He had pneumonia and Tommy John surgery in 2020, missed time with COVID in 2021, sustained a stress fracture in his rib, a finger fracture after being struck by a line drive and broke his wrist after falling off a bike in 2022 and found himself back on the IL after suffering a stress reaction in his shoulder earlier this season.

Maybe all of that is why he’s willing to do anything to find his way back onto the mound.

“If they want me coming out of the bullpen in the seventh inning, deal.”

    What do you think?  Leave a comment.

Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale

“I’m going off of what they say,” Sale said after throwing a simulated inning Thursday, per Alex Speier of The Boston Globe. “If they want me coming back throwing two innings as an opener, I’m in. If they want me to build up to six innings, I’m in. If they want me coming out of the bullpen in the seventh inning, deal.”

Is that so? If Sale is willing to serve in any role, let’s take a look at each option and whether it makes sense for Boston.

Starting
This one feels like the most logical option considering it’s all he’s done (full-time) since 2011, there just seems to be a variable in play that hasn’t been there previously. Sale was once one of the most feared pitchers in the American League, and still showed flashes throughout the early portion of this season, but the ability to throw even 100 innings is no longer there. The Red Sox have Brayan Bello, James Paxton and Kutter Crawford in the rotation, with Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck both nearing their respective returns. Nick Pivetta, with some help from Brennan Bernardino, is basically a starter in his own right.

We haven’t even mentioned the likelihood of the Red Sox adding a starter at the trade deadline. Would Boston really try to go with six starters and a bulk duo — or risk moving a successful starter like Crawford to the ‘pen? We don’t think so. Something’s got to shake.

Opening
The Red Sox seem to have a clear play at their disposal. They could leave Bello, Paxton and Crawford in the rotation, allow Bernardino and Pivetta to do their thing and throw Sale and Whitlock together as another bulk duo. Houck could return to the bullpen and even out their righty-lefty rotation, as well. That, of course, is in a perfect world where injuries cease to exist.

Bullpen
Sale coming out of the bullpen is a scary thought, even at 34. We all remember what happened in 2018, when he was called upon to close out Game 5 of the World Series in Los Angeles. It’s a winning formula.

The amount of names who could possibly start is astonishing for the Red Sox, especially when you consider the fact that they only had three for over two months. Bello, Pivetta, Crawford, Whitlock, Houck, a possible deadline addition and the duo of Bernardino and Pivetta? Now they’re cooking with gas!

It might not be what Red Sox fans are used to, but a role in the bullpen could be best for Sale and Boston.