When the Red Sox dealt Chris Sale to the Atlanta Braves on Saturday in exchange for financial considerations and prospect Vaughn Grissom, it was a significant move. A key member of the Boston club that won the 2018 World Series, Sale struck out Manny Machado to mark the game’s final out against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
However, the left-hander’s limitations were mostly caused by ailments that prevented him from playing as much as he did.
Sale will now have a new opportunity with a Braves squad hoping to improve on its 104 victories in the 2023 MLB season.
Here is a summary of the opinions expressed by people in the MLB on the Red Sox-Braves trade:
With a few exceptions, Sale was primarily handicapped or limited. He missed a whole season and most of two seasons recovering from Tommy John. Sale had an unfathomably high number of injuries in 2022, including shattered wrists, pinkie fingers, and ribs.
Recognize this: Sale was a fierce competitor, a consummate professional, and a fantastic colleague. He was well respected by all of his teammates as well as by his managers and coaches. The idea that Sale was simply driven by his salary and didn’t give a damn about whether he contributed or not is completely false.
“While not as dynamic as his remarkable peak, Sale’s stuff is still well above average, and Atlanta will insert him into one of the best rotations in baseball.”
The Athletic Steve Buckley
However, there were always indications that his contract extension would not work out well, and these indications quickly developed into a long list of unfavorable events. Since agreeing to the new contract, Sale has only made 56 starts. It was revealed during 2020 spring training that Sale would have Tommy John surgery; as a result, he missed what ended up being a season that was cut short due to the pandemic. It wasn’t until August 14, 2021, against the Baltimore Orioles, that he made another start and gave up two earned runs in five innings. He pitched five scoreless innings against the Texas Rangers in his subsequent start.
“The Braves intend to start the season with Sale in their rotation, but his workload will be closely monitored.” Put another way, they don’t think they need to wait a month or two before making his debut in order to take advantage of whatever contributions he might be able to make during the postseason.
Jennings, Chad (The Athletic
Sale departed like an albatross on Saturday. After being traded in the last year of a $145 million, five-year contract that crippled the team and caused it to drop to the bottom of the American League East, Sale had transformed into a lot of things he had never wanted to be in a baseball uniform. Not accessible. Not trustworthy. paid too much. He had turned into a wild card for a club in dire need of consistency.
Lou Merloni, WEEI
When he initially arrived, he was amazing. Every night there was a show. Always responsible. There was a problem with the extension. His body had only begun to malfunction. I’m hoping he’ll stay healthy and throw good with a healthy off-season.
The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham
“Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow made a wise decision by obtaining a genuine infield prospect in Grissom and saving $10.5 million in payroll ($8.6 million for luxury tax purposes). Alternatively, Sale might have chosen to play out the remainder of his contract and hope that he would remain healthy.