Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Red Sox SP Chris Sale undergoes season-ending surgery after suffering fractured wrist in bike accident

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.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom lamented Sale's tough luck after offering a vague timeline for recover.

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:

TODAY'S BEST
Mavericks advance to Western Conference Finals aided by controversial call late
Connor McDavid, Oilers hammer Canucks to force Game 7
Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk epic increases excitement for potential rematch
Seize the Grey wins in muddy Preakness
Even Mike Budenholzer admits the Suns need a point guard
Watch: Juan Soto's first multi-homer game as a Yankee
Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa lead at PGA Championship
Knicks could get major boost for Game 7 showdown with Pacers
Giants All-Star pitcher suffers setback in recovery from injury
Panthers star named winner of 2024 Selke Trophy
WNBA to investigate $100,000 sponsorship deals for Aces players
Tiger Woods blames one big factor for missing the cut at PGA Championship
'Ain't good enough': Draymond Green claims Celtics must 'win it all' or it's a 'failure'
Blue Jays GM wants struggling club to feel 'massive sense of urgency'
Raptors expected to flip former NBA champion during the offseason
MLB insider reveals Mets' massive extension offer that Pete Alonso turned down
Celtics legend provides update after gruesome finger injury
Bulls hire former NBA head coach as top assistant
Chiefs move on from young running back
20-year MLB veteran working out, unsure about playing future