In 2024, Chris Sale won 18 games and pitched to a 2.38 ERA on his way to winning the NL Cy Young Award, but back spasms forced him to sit out his last start and miss the Braves' short trip to postseason play. After a good spring, Sale’s first two starts were uneven at best, raising the specter of another injury-plagued season.
Chris Sale's injury history
The first eight years of Sales’ career were relatively injury-free. After 80 appearances out of the pen in 2010 and 2011, Sale missed nine days in 2012 and had two injury-free seasons before he fractured his foot in 2015, but that injury didn’t keep him from throwing 208+ innings. Over the next two seasons, Sale made 64 starts and threw 441 innings without missing a beat.
Arm Issues Begin
Sale cruised through the first half of 2018 but had to go on the IL at the end of July with shoulder inflammation. He returned 12 days later only to have the injury resurface after one start, putting him on the shelf for 24 days.
After struggling through the first half of the season, Sale went on the IL in August with left forearm inflammation and missed the rest of the season. In March 2020, Sale had UCL replacement surgery and didn’t return until August 2021, two years after going on the IL.
If it Isn’t One Thing…
His hopes for a strong 2022 season ended when a stress fracture of his rib cage sent him to the IL before spring training ended and lasted until July 12. A fractured pinky finger sent him back to the IL nine days later, and if that wasn’t enough, Sale suffered a season-ending broken wrist during a bicycle accident on Saturday, August 6.
The 2023 season saw Sale struggle to find his rhythm as he pitched to a 4.58 ERA in his first 11 starts before going on the IL on June 2 for 71 days. He made nine starts after returning to the Red Sox in 2023 and 29 starts for the Braves last year before back spasms forced him to the sidelines.
That’s a Wrap
When healthy, Chris Sale remains one of baseball’s best pitchers, and, had his 2022 not been disrupted by the fractured finger, he might have won his Cy Young in Boston instead of for the Atlanta Braves. One just hopes he can stay healthy going forward.