The Atlanta Braves have signed trade acquisition Chris Sale, 35, to a contract extension.
MLB.com, the official site of Major League Baseball, reported on Friday (May 5), “Sale will be in Atlanta longer than expected. Atlanta signed Sale to a two-year, $38 million contract. The deal includes an $18 million club option for 2026. It shows that Atlanta is confident in the veteran left-hander’s health. The deal comes just days after the team sent infielder Von Grissom to Boston for $17 million and Sale in a trade.” Sale’s extension is worth up to $56 million.
Sale is a veteran left-hander with a career record of 120-80 with a 3.10 ERA in 343 games (1789⅔ innings) in Major League Baseball. Injuries have plagued Sale since 2019, 안전놀이터 limiting him to a 6-5 record with a 4.30 ERA in 20 games (102⅔ innings) last year. Ultimately, Boston sent him to Atlanta, subsidizing most of his salary.
Despite the health question marks, Sale can be a powerful pitcher when healthy.
Last year, he struck out 11.0 batters per nine innings, and his fastball topped out at 99.0 miles per hour (159.3 km/h). If Sale can stay healthy, Atlanta gets a solid starter in the deal.
According to MLB.com, “Sale receives $16 million this year and $22 million in 2025. Factoring in Boston’s salary relief, Atlanta can play Sale for virtually nothing this year. The new deal eliminates the deferred payments that were part of Sale’s previous contract and is a rewrite,” said Derek Jenkins, president and CEO of the Atlanta Braves.
“Importantly, Atlanta is confident that Sale is now free of the injury issues that plagued him the past four seasons,” said MLB.com in its analysis. “Sale finished in the top six of the American League Cy Young Award voting for seven straight years from 2012 to 2018, but injuries ended his prime. He underwent Tommy John surgery (elbow ligament splicing) in 2020 and battled broken ribs and a fractured right wrist in 2022. He made just 11 starts in three years, from 2020 to 2022,” analyzed Sale’s injury history.
Atlanta President of Baseball Operations Alex Anthopoulos
“We feel like Sale is on track this winter to have the most normal offseason preparation he’s had in a long time. But at the same time, it’s true that he only pitched 100 innings last year, so we’ll be mindful of that. We’re not placing any restrictions on our starters, but we’ll be checking in with them daily to see if they need to skip any bullpen pitches or get an extra day of rest.”
Atlanta will go with a starting rotation of Max Freed, Spencer Strider, 파워볼게임 Charlie Morton, Sale, and Bryce Elder. “With Morton nearing retirement and Freed eligible for free agency after this year’s season, keeping Sale in Atlanta for another year should lower the need for starting reinforcements in the upcoming winter,” MLB.com noted.