A somber Chris Sale met with the media prior to Friday evening following the Red Sox placing him on the 15-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation.
"I got something going on with my shoulder, obviously, said Sale. I still have some things that I have to kind of go through to finalize what the deal is. But obviously, [it’s] a hit nonetheless."
A dejected Sale finds himself back in a similar position he has been in over the last couple of years, back on the injured list and fighting to return to baseball. He has now landed on the injured list in each of the last five seasons, which includes missing the entire 2020 season due to Tommy John surgery. Last season he suffered a rib fracture, a broken pinky finger and a broken wrist following a bicycle accident. Sale has made only 22 starts over the last four seasons.
The seven-time All-Star said that he felt the injury get worse as he was pitching in the fourth inning.
“First inning was great, second was kind of when it started happening, third inning was not very good and then the fourth inning, that was one that did me in. I kind of felt it on one pitch, and then after that it just slowly kept creeping up. The tolerance was not where I needed to be. I couldn’t finish pitches. I was raring back for 91. That’s just not it [for me], ever,” said Sale.
The southpaw threw 30 fastballs in his start, they averaged 93.2 mph. That was down from the 94.5 mph that he had been throwing this season, per Baseball Savant.
“Just kind of a gut punch. I worked really hard, a lot of people worked really hard for me to get to this spot. It’s tough being a disappointment again,” added Sale.
He underwent an MRI on Friday morning. The results from his MRI were not available, Alex Cora said doctors still needed to review the imaging results and then meet with the pitcher.
"I got MRIs, CT scan. I think they're looking over those right now. I think I have a couple more tests that I have to go through until we can kind of give a definitive answer. But still, obviously, not the situation you want to be in, for sure” said Sale.
The 34-year-old doesn’t think the injury will require surgery.
“I would say sometime next week, [I’ll know more],” said Sale. “Five, six, seven days. I talked to some of the doctors and [they] said at least within the next week, we'll know more. You guys know me. As soon as I find something out, I'll be sitting right here in front of you guys giving you guys the information you guys need to know.”
Sale had been getting back to top form on the mound, he posted a 5-2 record with a 4.58 ERA. He owns a 2.87 ERA in his last eight starts and had tossed five innings in seven of his last eight starts.
“Just disappointing,” said Sale. “I hate feeling like this. I started having fun playing baseball again, and now I’m back to not having fun. And that sucks. I was kind of getting used to sitting in front of you guys, talking about good stuff. It’s been a rocky road. I felt like I was over the hump, I really did. I felt like I was back to being myself. So when something like this happens, it’s deflating.”
A discouraged Sale has been through this all too many times during his Red Sox tenure. He did however offer words of encourage at the end of the media presser.
“If there is anything I can prove, you aren’t going to keep me down. I’m going to keep rolling, knock me down, I am going to get back up. It’s obviously not where I want to be, but if there is somebody out there watching, never give up. I’m going to keep rolling,” said Sale.
