Chris Sale Dealt Yet Another Brutal Blow

As if the previous three seasons hadn't brought enough misery and bad luck for the Boston Red Sox' $145 million dollar man, the latest injury news brings yet another setback for Chris Sale.

The Red Sox have transferred Chris Sale to the 60-day IL, per @BNightengale

The earliest Sale could be eligible to return is early August pic.twitter.com/Xmj6ipaEqV

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 9, 2023

He'll now be out until at least early August after the Red Sox moved him to the 60-day IL.  

Chris Sale has a stress reaction in the scapula bone (shoulder blade). It will not require surgery, but will require rest and rehab. He’ll be re-evaluated in 3-4 weeks.

— Sean McAdam (@Sean_McAdam) June 9, 2023

Sale has been diagnosed with a stress reaction in the scapula bone, otherwise known as the shoulder blade. For now, there's no surgery on the horizon, just rest and rehab. The team says he’ll be re-evaluated in 3-4 weeks. 

The scarier thought for the BoSox is that this is the same injury that Jacob deGrom had last year. He was diagnosed on April 2 and came back on August 2. That's four months.

Boston can only hope it's a quicker recovery for Sale. But let's face it, this is a guy who pitched only 11 over a three-year period before this season due to a myriad of injuries, some fluky, some self-inflicted, and even some baseball-related ones.

Sale, after a rocky start this season, was finally coming around to his ace-like status before hitting the IL a week ago, with an ERA in the mid-2.00s over his last six starts, and a WHIP well under 1.00. Overall, he's 5-2 with a 4.58 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. 

Photo: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports