It's well established that one of Craig Breslow's first moves as chief baseball officer of the Boston Red Sox didn't pan out as expected.
On Nov. 20, an exclamation point will be placed on Chris Sale's excellent season, his first outside the Red Sox organization since 2017. The veteran seems to be a lock for the National League Cy Young Award after he secured a triple crown — the most wins, strikeouts and the lowest ERA in the NL — as the Braves' ace.
Sale clocked a 2.38 ERA, the lowest among qualified pitchers last season, with 225 strikeouts and 39 walks over 177.2 innings. He posted a league-leading and insanely efficient 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings, ranked in the 94th percentile in strikeout rate and 87th percentile in walk rate.
Sale also completed his first healthy season since 2017, and his proclivity toward injury was one of Boston's main reasons for trading him. He signed a five-year, $145 million extension before the 2019 season and pitched under 151 innings from 2020-23 after the deal took effect.
Chris Sale expected to win NL Cy Young after his first season outside the Red Sox organization since 2017
Your National League Pitching Triple Crown winner: Chris Sale 👏 pic.twitter.com/QHWz7CahpD
— MLB (@MLB) October 1, 2024
To make matters worse, the Red Sox's return for Sale spent much of his 2024 campaign injured. Vaughn Grissom appeared in just 31 major league games and 55 minor league contests. It was yet another tough break for a team that expected to get an everyday infielder out of the Sale deal, and Boston's infield defense was disastrous last season.
With Sale's expected Cy Young title on the way, the pressure on Grissom is even higher. He still has years of control remaining on his contract, and although the trade isn't a bust yet, the first season absolutely favored Sale and the Braves. Grissom is a candidate for a starting job at second base next season, and based on his latest stint in the majors, he could have a chance to win it — he batted .333/.370/.417 over eight games in September as the Red Sox pushed for a Wild Card spot.
For now, though, Sale deserves his flowers and the Cy Young Award, which he's somehow never won before. The other two NL finalists, Paul Skenes and Zack Wheeler, posted impressive seasons, but Sale's triple crown is the most worthy of the season's highest pitching honor.
It's a shame he couldn't have won it in a Red Sox uniform, but maybe the change of scenery was the difference-maker for Sale.