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Boston Red Sox Rumors: Why re-signing Chris Sale is top priority

By William Hyland

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 28: Chris Sale #41 of the Boston Red Sox delivers the pitch during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Five of the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 28, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 28: Chris Sale #41 of the Boston Red Sox delivers the pitch during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Five of the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 28, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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With Chris Sale’s contract expiring at the end of the season along with some other Boston Red Sox stars the team will have some tough decisions to make.

Chris Sale has been one of the most underpaid pitchers of his class, despite still performing at the same level of his contemporaries as a member of the Boston Red Sox.

While he has historically struggled with second-half durability, Sale has proven himself to be an ace in both regular season and postseason play. After this season, however, Sale will become a free agent for the first time.

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He will be a free agent at the same time as fellow starters Michael Wacha, Cole Hamels, Shelby Miller, and Madison Bumgarner. This is, assuming that neither of them are re-signed by their respective teams or traded within the next ten months.

Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox have not only Sale but also Xander Bogaerts and Rick Porcello hitting free agency this November. Additionally, they’ll have to inevitably consider extending Mookie Betts before he is up after the 2020 season.

JD Martinez will also be able to opt out after 2019 if he believes he can get more than his 3-year $62.5MM on the open market. But considering the current climate of MLB free agency, that is a stretch.

Only an extremely unlikely scenario would involve Betts, Bogaerts, Porcello, and Sale re-signing with Boston. In all likelihood, at least one of those players will depart, if not two or three.

So is a Chris Sale return likely? My answer is no.

You would think Boston Red Sox brass would learn from the Jon Lester mistake of five years ago, but I believe they won’t want to pay Sale and will instead focus on pairing Porcello with another free agent pitcher and assuring a Betts extension.

This will leave both Bogaerts and Sale on a clear path to departure. Again, in this climate of ambiguous MLB free agency, there’s no guarantee that Scott Boras clients like Bogaerts will get the money they’re searching for.

However, I just don’t see a likely scenario where the Red Sox will pay both Sale and Betts the money they deserve while also convincing to Porcello and perhaps Bogaerts to take discounts.

Though it is unlikely, I would still say that re-signing Chris Sale should be a priority. Maybe not as important as locking up Mookie Betts, but enough where they at least give it a legitimate shot by the summer.

Next. New year, new David Price. dark

Sale will be one of many in his free agent class, and as we have learned, there are absolutely no guarantees anymore that even the game’s best will find homes by Spring Training.

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