It was one step forward, one step back on Friday for the Red Sox.
Things began with the club announcing that outfielder Adam Duvall would be activated from the 60 day IL following a 2 month layoff due to a fractured left wrist. Unfortunately, that announcement coincided with news that SP Chris Sale was dealing with a stress reaction in his left scapula, necessitating a move to the 60 day IL himself.
Duvall, 34, was scorching hot out of the gates for Boston recording 11 runs, 4HRs, 14RBIs, and batting .455 with a 1.544OPS through the first 8 games of the season. The Louisville alum last appeared in a Red Sox uniform on April 9th against the Detroit Tigers where he injured his wrist on a difficult catch in the field.
With their 5 hole hitter on the shelf, Boston’s offense operated in fits and spurts en route to a 31-32 record. With a perfect 316-316 split in terms of runs scored and runs against, the Red Sox find themselves 14 games back of the division leading Rays through June 9th.
The good news however is that Duvall’s return provides some protection for star slugger Rafael Devers who will move back to the cleanup spot in the lineup. And despite their up and down performance, the BoSox are only 5 games out of a wildcard spot with nearly 100 games remaining on the year.
While their offense can breathe a sigh of relief, Boston’s pitching staff will now need to get creative for the foreseeable future with Sale hitting the IL until the latter stages of the season at the earliest.
The 6’6” lefty has had an absolute nightmarish stretch of injuries since 2019. Over the last 4 seasons, Sale has only suited up for 22 total appearances due to a variety of on and off-field setbacks.
This time, it’s the shoulder blade on his throwing arm which is ailing him. The silver lining is that it reportedly will not require surgery, but the earliest he would be eligible for activation would be August 2nd. While manager Alex Cora expressed hope that it would only be a minor injury, additional testing revealed further damage which necessitated a transfer to 60 day IL.
Once one of the most dominant starters in all of Major League Baseball, the Florida native enjoyed a 7 year stretch where he recorded 200+ Ks between 2013 and 2019. A 7x All-Star, Sale was the fastest pitcher in league history to record 2,000 career strikeouts, requiring only 1626 innings to do so.
After signing a 5yr-$145M contract extension in 2019, things took a dramatic turn for the towering lefty. In August of that year, Sale was initially placed on the 10 day IL with left elbow inflammation. This eventually led to Tommy John surgery which cost him all of 2020.
While he returned for limited action in 2021, things again went south in spring training of 2022 when he fractured a rib throwing batting practice at his alma mater. After making his return to the majors in July, he suffered a fractured finger after taking a line drive off his throwing hand. While on the IL, he then broke his right wrist in a bike riding accident which ended his 2022 campaign.
Now, only 11 starts into 2023, Sale finds himself back on the 60 day IL with another injury in what has been a frustrating stretch for both player and club alike.
Through 59 innings in 2023 Sale had posted a 4.58 ERA and 1.19 WHIP to go along with 71 punchouts on the year. Boston is next in action versus the New York Yankees in a weekend long series at Yankee Stadium.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Keith Allison. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.