Chris Sale is ready to get back to the Red Sox
We’re nearly two months through the season and the Red Sox have been in control of the AL East for a majority of it. Interestingly enough they’ve been able to achieve this success without their best pitcher being on the mound. That may all change soon enough though as Chris Sale has been diligently working back from Tommy John Surgery and his progress is making everyone pretty optimistic.
Before this season it was felt that the lefty wouldn’t be back with the team until July and if things had been a repeat of 2020, possibly not at all. As each day goes by though that sentiment seems to get altered to fit a new timeline that may say The Condor make his way back to Fenway Park far sooner. Now, I won’t get too ahead of myself because as we all know anything and everything can go wrong on the road to recovery, especially from TJS.
Red Sox pitching coach Dave Bush spoke to the media today and per Chris Cotillo of Masslive.com, the pitcher is pretty happy with the progress he’s seeing. I think all of the Fenway Faithful will agree that we can’t wait to see Sale back on the mound for this club as having another strong arm in the arsenal can only mean good things right now.
"“He feels really good about it,” Dave Bush said. “It’s a really important step for him to be able to get on the mound. As he said, he feels like a pitcher again. That’s a really big step. He feels like he’s getting close and he’s going to be part of the team sometime soon.”"
For Sale to say that he finally feels like a pitcher again really is huge. When you’re making your way back from a procedure of this magnitude it has to be daunting and overall exhausting after a while. You can’t just get back on the mound based on a concrete timeline. Every pitcher is different and every recovery is different, and this is a major step for Boston’s ace on his path back to the rotation.
Boston’s rotation has been pretty strong through the early goings of the season with Garrett Richards and Nick Pivetta shining. However, adding Sale back into the mix will bring it to the next level and could give the Red Sox that extra bump for their drive toward October. Even if he makes his return in a relief effort to shake the rust off, he should be ready to go once the season hits the pivotal point and eventually the postseason.
More from Chris Sale
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When the season kicked off I couldn’t wait for Sale to get back but things had started off so well that I changed my mind and wanted the Red Sox to give him as much time as possible. However, with the recent struggles of Nathan Eovaldi and Eduardo Rodriguez, that thought process may change soon.
The biggest news to come from Sale’s injury rehab is that he’s been throwing off the mound more and more as the days have gone by. At one point it was a shock that he hadn’t seen the mound at all but that has clearly changed as we move into June.
"“He’s throwing. He’s getting off the mound. I don’t know exactly what dates,” Bush said. “It’s a couple times a week right now. It’s definitely a shorter number of throws but he’s on the mound as part of his throwing program and he’s building up strength and building up intensity.”"
The Red Sox may not have gotten the win today but they have been on a tear and still sit atop the throne in the AL East. If they can get Chris Sale back in their rotation around the All-Star break and use him for the remainder of the season, the league needs to worry. We all know what he can do when he’s healthy, but we also know what he can do when he’s not but finds that extra gear. Just ask Manny Machado. With Boston being one of the biggest surprises of the season to this point, getting The Condor back on the roster to finish the season will only add a cherry to that sundae.