NEW YORK — Before kicking off their first rivalry series of the season on Friday night, the Red Sox announced a slew of roster moves.
Throughout the week, Adam Duvall’s return from the injured list was the eagerly-anticipated update; the veteran outfielder was off to a scorching start to the season before fracturing his wrist in mid-April.
But while Duvall has, indeed, been reinstated and is in the lineup for Friday night, the announcement included much bigger, bad news: Chris Sale has been transferred from the 15-day to 60-day injured list.
The 34-year-old southpaw last pitched on June 1. After looking dominant in the early frames, his velocity and command took a sharp turn. When Alex Cora came out to the mound to take him out after 3.2 innings, it was clear something was wrong.
Sale’s diagnosis was left-shoulder inflammation. The latest from the team is that imaging indicated a stress reaction in his scapula (shoulder blade bone). While the injury doesn’t currently require surgery, he’ll need more rest and rehab time than originally anticipated. He’ll be reevaluated in three to four weeks, at which time, they’ll determine next steps.
But even without this update, the move to the 60-day speaks for itself. As the numbers suggest, the 15-day stipulates a minimum of 15 days, but a player can remain on the list for much longer. The same rules apply to the 60-day; now, Sale can return no earlier than Aug. 2. The Red Sox being willing to make this change and lose him for at least that long indicates his situation is more dire than expected.
What it means for this team’s hopes of a viable season is yet unknown, but there’s no question, it’s a massive, painful blow. After elbow inflammation ended his season in August 2019, Sale missed most of the next three seasons. Tommy John surgery in April 2020 cost him that entire year, and most of the next. He returned in August 2021, almost exactly two years to the day of his last major league game, only to miss almost the entire 2022 season due to an avalanche of injuries: rib fracture, pinky fracture, wrist fracture.
All told, Sale came into this spring training having thrown 48.1 regular-season innings over the past two years. The Boston baseball community held its collective breath as the southpaw carefully navigated spring training and reached Opening Day, healthy for the start of a season for the first time since 2019.
The veteran southpaw looked rusty at the beginning, but after a few shaky contests, he began to put together an impressive comeback season. Over his last eight starts, he posted a 2.87 ERA and held batters to a .216 average and .633 OPS; since the beginning of May, those numbers were even better: a 2.43 ERA, .204 AVG, and .641 OPS. He issued no more than one walk in each of his last seven outings, and allowed no more than two earned runs in six of his last eight.
Throughout the offseason and spring, how Sale would fare this year was considered a weather vane or litmus test of the Red Sox season, as he’d been in the past. And even if the team didn’t end up being successful as a whole, if he was finally be able to make a comeback after so many tragic setbacks, it would be an uplifting, bright spot.
For now, the Red Sox have neither.
Other roster moves
In addition to the Duvall and Sale moves, the Red Sox selected the contract of left-handed pitcher Joe Jacques, optioned infielder Enmanuel Valdez to Triple-A, and designated left-hander Matt Dermody for assignment.
Jacques, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 33rd-round pick in 2018, is a Rule 5 Draft pickup. He’s posted a 3.58 ERA across 23 appearances (1 start) with Triple-A Worcester this season, but his most appealing attributes are his impressive walk (7.5%) and groundball (56.3%) rates. Will the Red Sox strike gold with him, like they did with Garrett Whitlock?
Down on the farm, Stephen Scott and Tyler Dearden were promoted to Triple-A Worcester.
Rivalry notes
Gerrit Cole got the start in the Bronx on Friday night, which means another showdown between the $300 million pitcher and his $300 million tormentor, Rafael Devers.
In 30 career at-bats against Cole in the regular season, Devers has seven hits, six of which are home runs (though only one was in New York). He’s never homered more than three times against any other pitcher in the game. He’s homered more off the Yankees (19 HR) than any other team, including nine career homers at their stadium, his second-highest total in an opponent’s ballpark.
In general, the Yankees are faring significantly better than the Red Sox this spring, despite some major injuries of their own.
Even without Carlos Rodon (60-day, back/forearm), Aaron Judge (10-day, toe sprain) and Nestor Cortes (15-day, rotator cuff), to name a few, they were 37-27, a respectable record, though in the hotly-contested American League East, it’s only good for third place.
This is already Judge’s second IL stint of the season, but the ailments haven’t stopped him from tearing the cover off the ball. He’s leading the AL with 19 home runs, and leading the majors with a .674 slugging percentage and 1.078 OPS.
