Red Sox Put In Financial Bind By Chris Sale's Latest Contract Decision

An opt-out would have been ideal for Boston

Scott Neville | Nov 2, 2022

Red Sox Put In Financial Bind By Chris Sale's Latest Contract Decision /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are backing up the brinks truck for a pitcher that has made just 11 starts in the last three seasons thanks to an ill-advised player option made by the previous front office leadership.

Chris Sale is opting into a two-year, $55 million player option, Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told The Boston Globe's Alex Speier.

The decision comes as no surprise, as he basically had the choice of making top dollar or going out and fetching mid-level money in free agency.

While the Red Sox would have been able to better allocate those funds elsewhere to improve the team, having a player of Sale's caliber on the roster is not exactly a problem.

Yes, he's gotten injured in so many unique ways over the last two years that it seems impossible for Sale to maneuver through everyday life healthy never mind a full 162-game Major League Baseball season, but there's no logical reason why Sale won't be a positive contributor moving forward.

None of his injuries post-Tommy John surgery have high risks of re-injury, and last we saw Sale he still had his elite stuff.

In his 11 starts over the last two seasons, Sale went 5-2 with a 3.17 ERA and a 57-to-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 48 1/3 innings. That was a rusty version of Sale, with nagging injuries along the way.

People have been saying it for years, but if Sale can get healthy, he'll be a huge piece of this team.

The only true way Sale's contract kills the team is if Bloom and company operate as if he'll be a member of the rotation next season. He should be a mere afterthought when assembling the roster. That way, Boston could receive a surprise ace if he does return to form, but won't have to reassemble the rotation if he does get hurt again.

While the contract is less than ideal, having Sale under team control provides the 2023 roster with immense upside.

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Published Nov 2, 2022

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu