Chris Sale returned to the mound during the 2024 Major League Baseball Spring Training and did not disappoint. Through two innings, he looked like the pitcher who earned seven All-Star selections and helped the Boston Red Sox win the 2018 World Series.
Sale earned four strikeouts in two innings of the Atlanta Braves’ February 28 Spring Training game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. RotoBaller fantasy baseball writer Eric Cross shared that 64 percent of his pitches were whiffs.
He threw 25 pitches: 12 sliders and nine four-seam fastballs. The remaining four were changeups (3) and a sinker (1). The two-time American League strikeouts leader was feeling it, throwing his fastball at an average of 94.9 miles per hour. Meanwhile, his pitches had an average exit velocity of 100.5 mph.
Really impressed by Chris Sale today.
— Eric Cross (@EricCross04) February 27, 2024
2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
64% Whiff, 48% CSW
Velocity was up a bit across the board too. pic.twitter.com/aiI9uWoNri
Seeing him pitch is a positive sign about his recovery from his shoulder injury while playing with the Boston Red Sox. That injury prompted the Red Sox to place him on the 60-day injured list.
Despite that condition, the Braves took a gamble on Sale, trading Vaughn Grissom in exchange for the veteran pitcher and cash considerations. He signed a two-year, $38 million extension after the trade.
But Braves fans hope that Sale can remain healthy because he had had an extensive injury history since 2019 when he suffered a season-ending elbow injury that didn’t require surgery. A year later, he underwent Tommy John surgery at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, dealing with rib, finger, and wrist injuries limited him to two games.
-Lance Fernandez
