Nothing lasts forever, especially in the game of baseball. To be successful in MLB, you have to be at the peak of your physical performance or close to it, and the long seasons take a toll on your body. If you last long enough to just get through your arbitration years, you have already beaten some incredibly long odds. In that context, Atlanta Braves ace Chris Sale's story is absolutely remarkable.
When the Braves acquired Sale from the Red Sox before the 2024 season, his career was at a crossroads. He had come off four straight seasons where injuries had caused him issues, and the veteran lefty was considering retiring altogether. Three seasons later, Sale is thriving once again.
At 37 years old, it would be fair to guess Sale has only another season or maybe two left in baseball. That could happen, but the numbers Sale put up the past three seasons at least open up the possibility that his career could instead follow the trajectory of future Hall of Famers Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.
Chris Sale looks like a guy that could keep doing this with the Braves for several more years, but there is no guarantee
Under normal circumstances with almost any other pitcher, the combination of over 2,200 innings and all of those injuries would have hurt Sale's performance on the field. There would be no shame in that, and Sale would still have a strong Hall of Fame case if 2027 indeed was his final season.
But that's not what happened. Over the weekend, MLB.com's Brian Murphy did an analysis of Sale's performance and stuff over the last three years, and the results are striking. Not only does Sale rank in the top-3 among starters in ERA, FIP, and pitching run value over that span, but what he has accomplished at his age has rarely happened before. Among starters who are 35 years old or older, only Sale, Lefty Grove, Randy Johnson, and Justin Verlander have posted three straight seasons with an ERA+ of over 160. That is insane.
In fact, it is insane enough to think that, assuming the Braves remain committed to managing his innings, Sale could keep doing this for a while. The Big Unit kept pitching until he was 45. Verlander only just retired at 43. Hell, would anyone be surprised if Max Scherzer came back in 2027 and pitched at 42 years old? Right now, the numbers suggest that we could see a similar run from Sale over the next few years, although, as we have seen in the past, that could change in the blink of an eye.
Add us as a preferred source on Google