Red Sox Place Chris Sale On 60-Day IL To Start 2022 Season
BOSTON (CBS) -- It's going to be awhile before we see Chris Sale take the mound for the Red Sox. Boston placed the lefty on the 60-day IL on Monday, part of a series of roster moves ahead of Thursday's Opening Day tilt against the New York Yankees.
Sale sat out Spring Training after suffering a right rib stress fracture during a players workout during the MLB lockout, and the earliest he's eligible to be return is now June 6. And that's if everything goes according to plan during his rehab.
This is now the third straight season that Sale will start the year on the IL. He missed all of 2020 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, which also cost him a significant amount of time at the beginning of the 2021 season. Sale was limited to just nine starts last regular season, going 5-1 with a 3.16 ERA. He took the mound three times during the playoffs but pitched just nine innings in those outings, sporting an 8.00 ERA in the postseason.
Sale, 33, is under contract for three more seasons after 2022. He'll make $27.5 million in 2023 and 2024 and $20 million in 2025. He has a full no-trade clause built into his deal through 2024.
With Sale out of the mix, Boston will go with a starting rotation of Nathan Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houck, Michael Wacha and Rich Hill to start the season. Opening Day is Thursday afternoon in New York against the Yankees.
Right-handed pitcher Tyler Danish took Sale's spot on Boston's 40-man roster on Monday, while the team assigned righty John Schreiber and outfielders Franchy Cordero and Rob Refsnyder to the minors.