Chris Sale has returned to the 10-day disabled list
Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale has returned to the DL after just coming off of it less than a week ago.
Sale missed the first two weeks of August with Inflammation in his pitching shoulder. Last Sunday was his return to the rotation against the Baltimore Orioles and he was dominant. Sale pitched five innings on Sunday striking out 12 batters.
Sale currently is 12-4 with a 1.97 ERA on the season and is in the running for a Cy Young season. He also has a record of 68 consecutive innings without allowing a home run which is the longest in the Majors this season.
The Red Sox have recalled Brandon Workman from Pawtucket.
The #RedSox today placed LHP Chris Sale on the 10-day disabled list with mild left shoulder inflammation, retroactive to Wednesday, August 15. To fill Sale’s spot on the 25-man roster, the club recalled RHP Brandon Workman from Triple-A Pawtucket.
— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 18, 2018
The question is, with a 10.5 game lead in the American League East, are the Red Sox being cautious with Sale?
Sale has had a history of having a great first half of the season and not so good second half. We saw that last year in September when he wasn’t the same pitcher we saw earlier in the season. They’re very well could be inflammation in his arm and Alex Cora may want to be cautious as to how he is used for the rest of the season. Most importantly, the Red Sox need Chris 100% by October. With a 10.5 game lead in the division, he can miss a meaningless start against the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Red Sox have a big series with the Cleveland Indians starting on Monday. Sale wouldn’t be pitching in that series anyway if he pitched on Sunday. If the division lead was shorter with the Yankees I’m not sure if Sale would even be on the disabled list. But with such a big lead in the division, the Red Sox can get away with Sale missing a start against a team who isn’t going to be a playoff team.
During Sale’s last DL stint, it didn’t even matter as the Red Sox took care of business by sweeping the Yankees and taking two out of three from the Toronto Blue Jays.
It seems Cora doesn’t want to overwork Sale and use him too much right now. You would never see this with John Farrell who would not put Sale on the DL two times in one month. Farrell would make Sale pitch and wear his arm out. Then by the time, September came his arm would be tired.
Could the Red Sox be putting Sale on this disabled list a sign so he can be fully rested in October? Possibly.