Chris Sale's latest end of season hardware shouldn't be the last for Braves

Chris Sale returned to baseball full-time in 2024 after being ravaged by injuries for years. He did so with a new team as the Red Sox shipped him off to Atlanta in exchange for prospect Vaughn Grissom.

It went better than anyone expected as Sale experienced his best season in recent memory. He led baseball in multiple categories throughout the year, including ERA and strikeouts. Batters struggled to compete against his breaking balls, and fastball velocity was also pretty great.

At the season's end, Sale had an 18-3 record and a 2.38 ERA over 177.2 innings with 39 walks and 225 strikeouts. Things couldn't have gone any better for Atlanta's lefty ace who is on the cusp of winning multiple awards.

Sale earned his second piece of hardware on Wednesday when it was announced that he had won Sporting News' National League Comeback Player of the Year award.

Due to multiple injuries, Chris only pitched in 151 innings from 2020 through 2023. It was a rough time for him in Boston and a fresh start felt necessary after a tumultuous journey.

He made up for that time in a big way and earned multiple award nominations for it. This is his second award, as he also won the National League pitching triple crown, leading the league in wins, strikeouts, and ERA. This won't be the last of the awards he wins.

He is nominated for a Gold Glove, thanks to incredible plays like the one below.

Other award nominations include NL Cy Young, MLBPA Comeback Player of the Year, MLBPA Outstanding National League pitcher, and the Roberto Clemente Award. What a season it was for a pitcher who was expected to be a middle-of-the-rotation arm.

Chris Sale will be exciting to watch again in 2025 as long as he can stay healthy like he did this season. Adding him at the top of the rotation with Spencer Strider will be a nice one-two punch for Atlanta.

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