During the past offseason, the Atlanta Braves acquired Chris Sale from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for infielder Vaughn Grissom. As part of the deal, the Red Sox sent $17 million to help cover Sale’s contract. In his final season with Boston in 2023, Sale posted a 6-5 record with a 4.30 ERA over 20 starts. Injuries had plagued him in prior years, limiting him to just 11 starts across the 2021 and 2022 seasons while missing all of 2020.
However, Sale remained healthy in his first season with Atlanta and delivered a dominant performance. In 29 starts, he recorded an 18-3 record, led MLB with a 2.38 ERA, and topped the National League with 225 strikeouts. His stellar season earned him the Pitching Triple Crown, as he also led the NL in wins. Additionally, Sale won the NL Cy Young Award, a Gold Glove, and was named NL Comeback Player of the Year while making his eighth All-Star appearance.
Despite his success, Sale revealed on the Baseball Isn’t Boring podcast that he initially planned for 2024 to be his final season.
“I thought that it was gonna be my last year, so I went into that offseason on a mission like ‘one more year left,'” Sale said. “Because in my mind, I wasn’t walking away from baseball. I was walking away from getting hurt.”
After an incredible comeback season, Sale has decided to keep going. At 35, he will return to the mound for Atlanta in 2025, and it will be exciting to see how he follows up his remarkable year.
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