Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale
In a sense, Chris Sale already proved a lot just in the last season. He proved that he could return after missing two years with arm injuries and that his stuff at least resembled that which made him one of the best starters in baseball. Sale deserves immense credit not just for returning, but for throwing meaningful innings down the stretch and helping the Red Sox make the postseason.
What he didn’t prove, however, is that he was still THE Chris Sale. Over his first seven starts, Sale was getting the results he was used to getting (5-0, 2.57 ERA), but in a far less dominant fashion. His 10.03 K/9 would have been his lowest since 2016, while his 9.5 H/9 would have been the highest of his entire career.
Obviously, it would be unfair to expect Sale to be in vintage form after two years away from baseball. Yet instead of improving as the season went along, his struggles only got worse. In two games the Red Sox needed to have at the end of the season, Sale allowed five runs in just 7 2/3 innings, including a two-inning, four-walk disaster in Game 162 that could have easily forced the Red Sox to play on the road in the Wild Card game.
The peak of Sale’s downfall came in Game Two of the ALDS. With the Rays already up 1-0 in the series, the Red Sox desperately needed a huge start for their former ace. Instead, Sale would get rocked for five runs in the first inning and didn’t see a second. He was better in the ALCS against the Astros (it would have been hard to be worse), but the Red Sox still lost both of his starts and would drop the series in six.
There’s no assurance that Sale will ever be the same pitcher again. Not many pitchers miss two full seasons and return at the same level, especially if they are in their early thirties like Sale. The only thing that is certain is that the Red Sox, who owe the lefty $97.5 million over the next three years and have an uncertain rotation after Nathan Eovaldi, need Sale to be productive to have any chance in the AL East.