Red Sox Spring Report: Chris Sale won't be ready for first three series of the season

Three things you need to know out of Fort Myers:

1. Chris Sale to open the season on IL.

This isn't exactly a new development. In the first week of camp, the Red Sox began planting the seed that Sale's double whammy of the flu and mild pneumonia had put him behind at the worst possible time.

But Thursday, it became official: Sale won't be on the Opening Day roster. Sale knew that news was coming, but acknowledged it was still hard to hear.



"It was a gut punch,'' said Sale. "When we were in that meeting (with manager Ron Roenicke, chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and members of the training staff), I told them the only thing that hurts is my ego.  And that doesn't matter.''

Sale had a good bullpen Wednesday and will throw live BP Saturday.

"I think they just want me to get fully stretched out and get where I need to be,'' Sale told reporters. "I started two weeks late, so I've got to stay two weeks late. Simple math will tell you that makes sense. They just want me to get back to 100 percent, want me to get stretched out and get all my starts in. I really didn't have any good arguments to come back (at them).

"Obviously, it's not what you want. But sometimes, you have to take in on the chin for the better of the team.''

Assuming the Sox backdate him the maximum three days at the start of the season (March 26), Sale would need to miss 15 days (the new IL stint for pitchers only in 2020). He would then be eligible to come off the IL on Tuesday, April 7, during the Red Sox' fourth series of the season.

2. Sale's absence won't change Bloom's search.

Bloom was asked Thursday if Sale being unavailable would intensify his search for additional starting pitching. The answer: no.

Some context: Bloom said he was already in the market for more pitching depth, and would continue to seek it out. The fact that Sale will miss his first two starts due to an illness -- and not something far more serious, like a recurrence of elbow or shoulder issues that have plagued him the last two seasons -- doesn't up the urgency any.

While a deal outside the organization remains a possibility, Bloom said he remains intrigued by some internal candidates. (Chris Mazza, one of the candidates, didn't help himself in this regard, allowing three runs on three hits in a single inning of work Thursday against the Philadelphia Phillies).

Bloom also said that it was possible the Sox could go with openers in two of the five rotation spots until Sale returns.

3. Jonathan Arauz helps his cause.

Arauz is in camp as a Rule 5 draft pick last winter, which means he either has to remain on the 26-man roster (or IL) or be offered back to the Houston Astros, from whom the Sox selected him in December.

Arauz hasn't played much above Single-A and is admittedly a longshot to make the team because of his age (21) and inexperience.

He can play several infield positions and some evaluators have noted that he's already defensively accomplished enough to play at the big league level. His bat, on the other hand, is very much unknown. In the minors, he has a .243 career batting average.

But Arauz smoked a three-run homer against the Phillies Thursday, which can't hurt him in his bid.