Red Sox Injury Update: Chris Sale looks sharp in Double-A rehab start

Boston Red Sox lefty Chris Sale made a rehab start in Double-A

Chris Sale took an encouraging step on his path back to the Boston Red Sox on Thursday with a rehab start for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs.

Sale tossed four innings, allowing only one run on four hits. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out seven. An RBI double in the third inning was the only damage he allowed. Sale didn’t stick around long enough to be credited with a win, but Portland would go on to crush the New Hampshire Fisher Cats 15-4.

The box score line is solid but it’s how he got to those results that matters. Sale threw 36 of his 52 pitches for strikes, including 16 swings-and-misses. His fastball sat in the 91-96 mph range, hitting 96 mph four times. We shouldn’t expect Sale to be unleashing upper-90s velocity during rehab outings but it’s notable that 96 is an improvement over what he showed last year when he was returning from Tommy John surgery.

Sale went 5-1 with a 3.16 ERA and 11.0 K/9 in nine starts down the stretch for the Red Sox last season following nearly two years on the shelf. Those results are excellent by almost any standards but it wasn’t quite vintage Chris Sale.

The lefty is making his way back from a far less serious injury this time, a stress fracture in his rib cage that has sufficiently healed. Now it’s a matter of building his arm strength back up to the point where he can handle a starter’s workload.

This was Sale’s third rehab start. After only making it through one inning in his first appearance, he looked sharper in his next outing. It’s one thing to dominate inexperienced hitters in the Florida Complex League and an entirely different situation in Double-A, where many organizations are grooming some of their top prospects.

According to MassLive’s Christopher Smith, Sale’s next stop is expected to be in Triple-A Worcester. He will need at least one more rehab start, which is projected for Wednesday at Polar Park. The WooSox have the day off on Tuesday, which affords Sale an extra day of rest. Assuming the Red Sox intend to keep him on a fairly regular schedule, July 6 would be his next opportunity to make the mound.

The Red Sox will re-evaluate Sale’s status following that next rehab start. If he dominates Triple-A hitters and can build his pitch count up to 75+ pitches, it’s possible that he’s deemed ready to return to Boston.

If Sale only needs one more rehab outing, he could potentially make his season debut on July 11 to open a pivotal series in Tampa Bay. That would line him up to make one more start before the All-Star break, during a trip to the Bronx to face the Yankees.

The Red Sox have always been cautious with Sale, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they held him back with an extra rehab appearance. Throwing him into the fire by having him make his first start in Yankee Stadium isn’t exactly handling the lefty with kid gloves though. Getting over that hurdle of his season debut against the weaker-hitting Rays is arguably the better option, even if it means he might not be able to last more than four or five innings.

It all depends on how he feels after his next appearance. It seems he’s feeling great in the wake of his dominant Double-A start but considering all the setbacks Sale has suffered over the last few years, we can’t take anything for granted.