In an MLB transaction devoid of smoke before a fire erupted, Chris Sale (and a suitcase filled with cash) was suddenly traded by the Boston Red Sox to the Atlanta Braves for soon-to-be 23-year-old infielder Vaughn Grissom.
Sale was set to earn $27.5 million in 2024, and Boston picked up nearly 62% of that tab shipping $17 million in the deal. The 35-year-old hurler joined an Atlanta starting staff that already had the likes of Spencer Strider, Charlie Morton, and Max Fried.
The virtuoso-like move by Atlanta Braves president of baseball operations and general manager Alex Anthopoulos proved even more valuable when Strider went under the knife for season-ending elbow surgery in early April.
From 1st Round Pick to One of the Best Arms on the Planet
Barack Obama was only in the second year of his presidency in 2010 when Sale, a Florida Gulf Coast University product, was drafted in the first round by the Chicago White Sox.
After a cup of coffee at High-A, Sale was a strikeout machine for Triple-A Charlotte posting a 21.32 K/9 in relief. He joined the White Sox later that year and served notice with a slim 1.93 ERA and 12.3 K/9.
In his early days, Sale relied heavily on a fallout sinker along with an effective slider and occasional changeup. He eventually became a starter in 2012.
Over the next seven years, Sale racked up 39.2 fWAR with 7 consecutive All-Star nominations.
He was in the top 6 or better in Cy Young Award voting every season during that stretch finishing 2nd in 2017—his 1st year in Boston.
Sale earned a World Series ring the following year as he and the Red Sox dispatched the Dodgers in 5 games.
Overcoming Injury & on the Comeback Trail
In 2017, Sale added a four-seamer to his repertoire and his slider had become world-class filthy while essentially replacing his sinker. By no coincidence, he went on to a career-high 7.6 fWAR that season.
After getting past a broken wrist, fractured finger, fractured rib, and yes, Tommy John surgery over the next few years, the Lakeland, Florida native eclipsed 100 IP in 2023 for the first time since before the pandemic.
With his lethal slider boasting a 40.2 whiff% and the four-seam fastball clocking 95 mph, Sale has been very effective through 8 starts in 2024 with an ERA+ of 162.
He’s not quite the robust Sale of his apex years, but he’s on pace to reach his highest fWAR and IP numbers since 2018. A total of 49 innings into 2024, he’s 6-1 with 0.89 WHIP, 11.05 K/9, and a .271 BABIP – which would be his best ever as a starter.
Sale remains virtually deadlocked at the top with Blake Snell as the all-time MLB leader in Ks per 9 innings with just over 11.
Mixed Bag in October?
Looking at his entire resume, Sale doesn’t have a good postseason record on paper. In 10 games and 7 starts, he’s 1-3 with a 6.35 ERA and 1.44 WHIP giving up 7 bombs in 34 innings pitched.
What he does have, however, is a World Series ring. Although he didn’t have his best stuff, Sale battled into the 5th inning in game 1 of the 2018 World Series outdueling Clayton Kershaw who was touched for 5 earned in 4 innings.
The former 13th overall pick didn’t qualify for the win, but Boston took down an 8-4 victory.
He pitched again in the 5th and final game of the 2018 World Series, striking out the side in the 9th to close out a 7-inning gem from David Price who beat Kersahw and the Dodgers to become world champs.
So past troubles aside, a healthy Sale in the playoff mix for the 2024 Braves—currently with a 99.1% to make the postseason—likely makes them that much more of an October threat.
What about Grissom?
Grissom has fallen off the proverbial cliff after showing promise with the Braves while filling in for an injured Ozzie Albies back in 2022. Vaughn is currently slugging .171 with a -6 wRC+. The former 11th-round choice in the 2019 MLB amateur draft is struggling to keep a spot at the big-league level.
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Chris Sale: Another Deft Move by the Braves Paying Off Huge After Strider Injury