While the Boston Red Sox remain very much in the AL wild-card hunt, the 2022 season could largely be classified as a disaster thus far. Perhaps no single player exemplifies the summer of gloom in Boston more so than seven-time All-Star starting pitcher Chris Sale.
The lanky southpaw suffered a stress fracture in his rib cage during the late stages of the offseason — making him unavailable for the start of the spring — and on top of that, Sale revealed that he was still unvaccinated against COVID-19. After his fracture healed, Sale's return was then delayed an additional few weeks in early May due to a reported "undisclosed, non-COVID-19, non-baseball injury."
The 33-year-old finally made his return to the bump in mid-July, going five shutout innings against the Tampa Bay Rays, before taking the mound against the New York Yankees on July 17. Sale exited after just 2/3 innings pitched after being hit by a come-backer and suffering a nasty finger injury. He then had surgery and was placed on the injured list.
The Florida Gulf Coast University product's bad luck didn't end there.
Chris Sale Undergoes Successful Surgery: pic.twitter.com/FeIDLh6ue2
— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 9, 2022
Red Sox starter Chris Sale broke his right wrist in a bike accident and underwent season-ending surgery Monday, the team announced. Amid fractured rib cage, a broken pinky on a comebacker and now this, Sale threw only 5.2 innings this season after posting 42.2 innings in 2021.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 9, 2022
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom lamented Sale's tough luck after offering a vague timeline for recover.
Chris Sale should be 'full go' in Spring Training, says Chaim Bloom.
— Ian Browne (@IanMBrowne) August 9, 2022
“You couldn’t make this up, right? We need to dispatch some people to go find whoever has the Chris Sale voodoo doll and recover it.” -- Chaim Bloom.
— Ian Browne (@IanMBrowne) August 9, 2022
Without Sale, the Red Sox will continue to rely heavily on 2021 All-Star Nathan Eovaldi, as well as Nick Pivetta, who leads the team in games started (22), wins (eight), innings pitched (123 2/3) and strikeouts (119). Newcomer Michael Wacha has been solid in his first season in Boston at 6-1 with a 2.69 ERA across 13 starts but is currently on the IL as well.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!