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

Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale has surgery to fix finger injury

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 7/18/22

While the majority of the baseball world settled in to watch the Home Run Derby , the Boston Red Sox reported that pitcher Chris Sale had surgery to repair a gruesome finger injury he sustained over the weekend.

The team expects him to return to the mound at some point this season, although there has been no definite timetable set for his return.

Chris Sale underwent an open reduction and internal fixation of a left fifth finger proximal phalanx fracture today.

The procedure was performed by Dr. Matthew Leibman at the Newton-Wellesley Outpatient Surgery Center in Wellesley, MA.
— Red Sox (@RedSox) July 18, 2022

Asked a Red Sox person if Chris Sale’s surgery means he’s definitely out for the season. Answer: “No.”
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) July 18, 2022

Sale exited in the first inning against the New York Yankees on Sunday after a comebacker struck him on his pitching hand. Sale fell on the ground right after being hit, visibly in pain.

Aaron Hicks smokes a line drive off Chris Sale's pinky to score another run. Sale appears to have broken his finger and he exits the game pic.twitter.com/FNDsWNVzBc
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) July 17, 2022

The injury is just the latest in a lengthy layoff for the pitcher, who has only made 14 starts since the end of the 2019 campaign. The 33-year-old was originally sidelined after undergoing Tommy John surgery, then had his return to the mound further pushed off because he had stress fractures in his ribs. He has only started in two games for the Sox this season.

The Red Sox lost to the Yankees 13-2 following Sale's exit, which came on the heels of a 14-1 loss on Saturday night. They have fallen to fourth place in the AL East, 16.5 games behind the division leading Yankees.

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