Angels Rumors: Seven-Time All-Star Starting Pitcher Linked to Halos

He would be quite the big name to bring into the Angels' rotation.

The Angels are in the market for another starting pitcher this offseason. They have five starters in Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Anderson, Patrick Sandoval, Reid Detmers and Jose Suarez, but Angels GM Perry Minasian has made it clear they want to feel comfortable no matter who is out there in their six-man rotation. As of right now, they don't have a great sixth option.

So, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported on the Big Time Baseball podcast that the Angels are in fact looking for another starter, and linked them to a big name who's struggled to stay on the field in All-Star LHP Chris Sale. 

"I see the Angels as a team that’s out there looking at starting pitching," Heyman said. "And I think [Chris] Sale could be a possibility for the Angels."

Sale is a seven-time All-Star, most recently in 2018. He made the All-Star team every year from 2012-2018, finishing in the top six of Cy Young voting all of those seasons, too — however, he never won the award.

Since then, he hasn't been able to stay on the field. In 2019, Sale struggled, going 6-11 with a 4.40 ERA before going on the injured list with elbow inflammation in August. That would ultimately end his season. Then, Sale underwent Tommy John surgery, and missed all of the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

In August of 2021, Sale finally returned, and actually pitched pretty well. He struggled towards the end of the season, though, allowing eight earned runs in nine innings in the postseason (most of them came in one bad inning, to be fair).

In 2022, Sale began the year on the 60-day IL due to a right rib stress fracture that he suffered before spring training. Then, he finally made his debut in June, throwing five scoreless innings. But in his next start, he took a comebacker to the finger, and went right back on the IL. Then, he underwent season-ending wrist surgery after suffering a bicycle accident. So when I said he hasn't been able to stay on the field, I clearly wasn't exaggerating.

With all his injury history, you're probably asking yourself, why would the Angels have any interest in adding Sale and his three remaining years of team control? Well first of all, the Angels definitely would not have to pay a lot of that remaining $75 million on his contract. They also wouldn't have to give up a ton for him, as the Boston Red Sox would probably do just about anything to get him off their team and in a new environment.

The Angels would, of course, be banking on him staying healthy. But it wouldn't all be based on luck. The Angels would be putting him into a six-man rotation, which would somewhat limit his innings over the course of a full season. With the extra days-off in between starts, maybe, just maybe, Sale could have slightly better luck staying healthy. In terms of potential fits for Sale, a team with a six-man rotation does feel like the best one.