In exchange for infielder Vaughn Grissom on Saturday, the Atlanta Braves acquired left-hander Chris Sale from the Boston Red Sox, strengthening their rotation with the seven-time All-Star who they hope completes a World Series-caliber lineup.
In order to complete the transaction, Sale waived his no-trade clause. The Braves had been trying for months to add a starting pitcher to their rotation, which now features Max Fried, Charlie Morton, and Spencer Strider. Grissom was involved in several trades this winter, including ones involving Dylan Cease of the Chicago White Sox. However, he ultimately proved to be necessary to acquire Sale, who will travel to Atlanta along with $17 million to offset his $27.5 million salary in 2024, according to sources.
With 125 strikeouts, 29 walks, and 15 home runs allowed in 102â…” innings, Sale, 34, is coming off his finest season since 2019. Between 2020 and 2022, Sale only pitched 48â…“ innings. He missed much of 2020 and 2021 due to Tommy John surgery, and his 2022 debut was delayed for months due to a rib injury. However, he made a comeback in his first start back, breaking his left pinkie, which ended his season.
While not as dynamic as his remarkable peak, Sale’s stuff is still well above average, and Atlanta will use him in one of the greatest rotations in baseball. After acquiring right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto and two-way star Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers overtook the Braves as the early favorites to win the World Series. One of the best pitchers of his generation, Sale is slated to become a free agent after 2024. He is 120-80 with a 3.10 ERA, the highest strikeout rate ever for a starting pitcher (11.1 per nine innings, versus just 2.1 walks per nine).
The Braves have been the most busy team in baseball this winter, with All-Stars at seven of nine offensive positions and fresh off a painful division series exit following a 104-win regular season. In an effort to improve his team within a unique window, President of Baseball Operations Alex Anthopoulos has made nine transactions this winter totaling tens of millions of dollars.
The Braves are the only team that has negotiated long-term contracts better than any other. The National League MVP-winner Ronald Acuna Jr. (2028–2028), Austin Riley (2033), Matt Olson (2030), Ozzie Albies (2027), Michael Harris II (2032), Sean Murphy (2029), and Strider (2029), who came in fourth in the Cy Young voting this year, are among those who are locked up.
Grissom became expendable because there was no obvious way for him to earn regular at-bats (he has also played outfield, but Atlanta acquired their left fielder in the Jarred Kelenic deal). Grissom, who turns 23 this week, played just 22 games above Class A before making his big league debut in 2022. Throughout his first 26 games, he played every bit the major leaguer, hitting.347/.398/.558 while replacing an injured Albies. Dansby Swanson signed a free agent contract with the Chicago Cubs, and Grissom entered 2023 hoping to take his place at shortstop. After Orlando Arcia emerged victorious in spring training, Grissom played primarily shortstop for the majority of the season in Triple-A, where he hit.330/.419/.501. He hit.280/.313/.347 in his little major league stint, but he had defensive issues at shortstop.
Grissom might take over the Red Sox’s vacant second-base position, which has been a source of contention for the team’s progressively irate Boston supporters. Following a winter in which they had only spent $1 million, right-hander Lucas Giolito was signed by the newly appointed Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow to a two-year, $38.5 million deal with an opt-out clause following the first season. This was Breslow’s first major acquisition.
After obtaining Sale in a sensational transaction that transferred top prospects Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech to the White Sox, where Sale played for seven major league seasons, Boston quickly changed course and moved Sale seven years later. Arriving as Boston’s ace in 2017, Sale was second in the American League Cy Young voting and helped the Sox win the World Series against the Dodgers in 2018. The Red Sox have finished in last place in the AL East three times in the last four seasons when Sale has missed a considerable amount of time.
Under Anthopoulos, the Braves, who captured the 2021 World Series, have one of their strongest pitching staffs going into 2024. Strider, Fried, Sale, and Morton are just a few of the deserving candidates vying for the fifth rotation place. The Braves’ starting depth is envied, especially after witnessing Texas weather pitching injuries en route to a World Series championship. It features Reynaldo Lopez, a right-hander who was signed as a free agent this winter and guaranteed $30 million over three years; it also features World Series hero Ian Anderson, top prospect A.J. Smith-Shawver, 2023 All-Star Bryce Elder, and possibly 2023 first-round pick Hurston Waldrep.