The Red Sox' trade of Chris Sale to the Braves in exchange for Vaughn Grissom on December 30, 2023 lives in infamy in Boston. While Sale went on to win the NL Cy Young in 2024, Grissom is currently not on the Red Sox' big league roster, and hasn't appeared in the majors at all in 2025.
Sale was also off to a strong start in 2025 with a 2.52 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 89 1/3 innings before fracturing his ribs and being placed on the 60-day injured list. He's shown positive signs in rehab and hopes to be back in action by late August.
It's hard to believe that the Braves are likely to be sellers at this deadline, but at 43-55, they're a long way out of a playoff spot, especially in the crowded National League wild card race. Although they have many younger players under contract for several seasons to come, Sale could be on the move.
In fact, the Talkin' Baseball podcast went as far to say that the Red Sox might be in the race for their former ace. "[Sale's] got an option for next year, the Red Sox need high-leverage pitching, the Braves operate a little differently, right?" Talkin' Jake added that he wouldn't be surprised to see a Jeff Passan notification that Sale had been traded back to Boston.
Could Chris Sale be traded back to Boston? pic.twitter.com/51A9FAD1OD
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 16, 2025
Could Braves trade Chris Sale back to the Red Sox?
In the first two years of his Red Sox career, Sale was lights out. He reached the 300-strikeout mark in 2017 and had a remarkable 2.11 ERA and 0.861 WHIP. In 2018, he registered 13.5 strikeouts per nine. Not only that, but he closed out the Red Sox' World Series victory on the mound. After that, it was a consistent struggle to remain healthy, missing all of the 2020 season and throwing just 42 2/3 innings in 2021 and 5 2/3 innings in 2022. However, he turned back the clock in Atlanta, and that has Red Sox fans regretting the trade, especially since they received nothing of substance in return.
But would a trade for Sale be a good plan? The Red Sox' need for pitching is no longer quite as dire thanks to solid performances from Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito. Additionally, Sale is 36 and still an injury risk. He'll also cost a lot, so he's high-risk, high-reward at this juncture. Sale probably isn't worth giving up a valuable prospect for given the Red Sox' current situation as a fringe Wild Card team.