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Boston Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale’s injury-plagued season came to an end on Monday after he underwent surgery to repair the fractured right wrist he sustained in a bicycle accident over the weekend. Sale, who didn’t make his 2022 debut until July 12 because of a rib cage injury, had been sidelined since a line drive at his next start on July 17 broke his left pinky finger.
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told reporters that Sale was pedaling to lunch at Boston College after a pitching session Saturday when he hit something that caused “a pretty gross spill.”
“You can’t make that up, can you?” Bloom said on Tuesday. “It stinks. It’s a real shame. We’re obviously relieved it wasn’t worse. Very glad it wasn’t worse. But it was such a bad streak for him and of course for us.'”
Sale, who finished the season with a 3.18 ERA in 5⅔ innings in two appearances, is expected to be ready to start spring training. The 33-year-old has endured four difficult years – and numerous injuries – since helping the Red Sox win the 2018 World Series. After signing a five-year, $145 million extension with Boston in March 2019, Sale posted a career-high 4.40 ERA in 25 starts. He underwent surgery by Tommy John in March 2020 and was sidelined for the season curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic. The seven-time All-Star was limited to nine starts last year after his return was delayed by a stiff neck and a battle with Covid.
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Sale’s losing streak continued earlier in the year when he suffered a stress fracture in his rib cage during MLB lockout practice. Sale, who was caught on video wrecking a clubhouse TV after starting a rehab with Class AAA Wooster, pitched for five scoreless innings in his 2022 Red Sox debut last month against the Tampa Bay Rays.
“I’m not broken anymore,” Sale said after this start. “It’s different this year. It’s definitely different this year.”
Five days later, Sale was removed from his second start after taking a line drive off his left pinky by New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks.
“This is just an incredibly bizarre sequence of events,” Bloom said Tuesday. “He should be fully involved next spring. We obviously have to think about what that means when we’re planning a full season where he hasn’t worn a lot of work in recent years.”
In some good news, Bloom said that Sale did not re-injure his healing pinky in Saturday’s bike accident.
The Red Sox entered Tuesday’s bottom spot in the American League East and 4½ games from the last wildcard spot.