Red Sox Injury Update: Trio of pitchers take the next step toward recovery

BOSTON, MA - JUNE 30: Chris Sale #41 of the Boston Red Sox delivers as he throws a simulated game before a game against the Kansas City Royals on June 30, 2021 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - JUNE 30: Chris Sale #41 of the Boston Red Sox delivers as he throws a simulated game before a game against the Kansas City Royals on June 30, 2021 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /
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Red Sox SP Chris Sale
Boston Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale, 32, pitching in the second inning against the Orioles during a Florida Complex League (FCL) rookie-level Minor League Baseball league on Thursday, July 15, 2021, at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Florida.Flsar 071621 Sp Bbasale 02 /

Red Sox SP Chris Sale

This is the one that should get Red Sox Nation the most excited. Christopher Allen Sale is getting closer and closer to making his MLB return and the league should be put on notice. Not only is he pitching as well as he did when he was healthy, but not he has hit off-field routine firing on all cylinders too. Getting him healthy as well as taking better care of himself before and after his starts could mean huge things for Boston going forward.

Sale made another rehab start this afternoon for the Portland Sea Dogs. The veteran lefty tossed 3.2 innings of work where he allowed two earned runs on six hits. The big story from his outing today was that he struck out nine and his fastball touch 96mph.

He’s now consistently getting whiffs from the opposition while his heater is staying in the mid to upper 90s. In the videos I’ve seen in his last two starts with Portland his slider has looked absolutely filthy and that makes me happy.

It was announced after his start today that he would make his next rehab assignment in Worcester for the Woo Sox at Polar Park. Getting to Triple-A ahead of schedule is a good sign for The Condor and we could be seeing him back in Boston real soon.

It was initially expected he’d be back sometime in mid-August but he looks well ahead of schedule. Cora did joke yesterday that there isn’t a set number of rehab starts left for Sale and that it could be one or a dozen, only the team knows.

The man that has become known as The Boogeyman as of late is ready to start haunting the league and the AL East better be worried.