On Sale: Red Sox Facing Their Future Ace Tonight?
By Blake Yagman
Tonight, the Boston Red Sox take on the Chicago White Sox and ace Chris Sale. Sale, who may be traded before this season’s trade deadline, could soon be calling Fenway Park home.
The Boston Red Sox lost a heart-breaker to the Chicago White Sox last night at the friendly confines of Fenway Park. Now one game out of first place, the Red Sox appear poised to make the first major acquisition of the season.
As many fans are aware, the Red Sox have one of the worst starting rotations in all of baseball. However, the team will be “buyers” at the trading deadline; Boston’s dynamic offense has kept the team in the 2016 playoff hunt.
This is because, amongst other reasons, the team wants to win another World Series in David Ortiz’ final season. After balking at the delirious asking price (Mookie Betts or Xander Bogaerts as the foundation for any trade package) for Marlins SP Jose Fernandez and Pirates SP Gerrit Cole, Boston GM Dave Dombrowski will likely look elsewhere for pitching help.
Save for Steven Wright, the Sox rotation has been an utter mess. David Price has been better, but the team has been devastated by inconsistency and short starts from Clay Buchholz and Eduardo Rodriguez. The Red Sox starting pitching woes have often bled into issues with the bullpen, as the team’s relief staff have been worn down and taxed heavily as a result. The solution? Enter tonight’s opposing pitcher, Chris Sale.
Chris Sale has been one of the most electric left handed pitchers in all of baseball since making his debut in 2010. After signing his initial contract with the Chicago White Sox out of Florida Gulf Coast University on June 20, 2010, Sale was called up to the big-leagues just a few weeks later– throwing his first major league pitch on August 6, 2010.
The 6’6″, 27-year-old Sale has finished in the top five of the AL Cy Young award voting four years in a row. To date, Sale’s career statistics are the foundation to a Hall-of-Fame plaque: 68-42, 2.92 ERA, with 1,104 strikeouts through 981.1 innings.
Unfortunately, Sale’s White Sox have fallen out of contention in the competitive AL Central; the team is beginning to posture itself has a “seller.” Chicago’s manager, Robin Ventura, is on the hot-seat; the White Sox general manager Kenny Williams was criticized heavily earlier this season for his handling of the Adam LaRoche scandal.
In the event that the White Sox do look to trade Sale, they will look for three or four prospects in return. The Red Sox, luckily, have one of the deepest farm systems in baseball; they could match up with Chicago by offering a package of prospects including OF Andrew Benintendi, 3B Rafael Devers, and even current ML-SP, Eduardo Rodriguez.
Chris Sale, aside from his physical on-field performance, jives well with the Red Sox’ roster foundation. He has a team-friendly contract through 2019, signed for under $14.5 mil. per year through the duration of his deal. By comparison, Sale would be making about the same amount as what Pablo Sandoval or Rusney Castillo through that date.
Boston Red Sox GM Dave Dombrowski has a unique familiarity of Chris Sale; while Dombrowski was the czar of the Tigers, he had the ability to see Sale pitch against his teams multiple times per season.
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Will the Red Sox look to improve by adding Chris Sale? Keep it locked for continued coverage here on Chowder and Champions.