BOSTON -- Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale -- barring any setbacks -- is nearing his return to a major league mound. That much is clear. What’s less obvious is the role he takes when he rejoins Boston’s roster in the coming weeks.
All 93 of Sale’s regular season appearances since joining the Red Sox in 2017 have come as a starter, but there’s a chance he’ll come out of the club’s bullpen when he is activated off the injured list. In theory, the Red Sox could give him a chance to pitch in relief in order to accelerate his return to the majors and allow him to build up his arm in short stints that impact the big league club. Speaking to The Athletic last week, pitching coach Dave Bush wouldn’t rule that possibility out, noting that “everything is on the table.”
On Tuesday’s episode of the Fenway Rundown podcast, Bush said that bringing Sale back as a fully built-up starting pitcher is Boston’s preferred plan. Still, the option of allowing Sale to build up in the majors instead of completing the whole process in minor league rehab outings remains possible.
“Ideally, he comes back as a starter and pitches like he always has in the past,” Bush said. “Reliever, starter, those roles kind of get blurred. He may start but not be able to throw six innings right away. We can call him a starter but it may just be a few innings at a time. What you want to call it really doesn’t matter.”
The fact that two of Boston’s best starters (Nate Eovaldi and Garrett Whitlock) are injured won’t impact Sale’s role, Bush added.
“Our situation with a couple of starters going down may change things a little bit but in the end, we’re going to make the right decision for Chris’ health and for the team,” he said. “Rushing him back simply because other guys are hurt is not going to be the right answer. But if he’s ready, and we think he can contribute and he’s going to pitch innings for us that are valuable, useful and could help us win, we’ll make that decision at that time.”
Each option has pros and cons for the Red Sox. Returning Sale to the rotation (a group that has been more than solid all season) would allow him to return to the role he had dominated before injuries began to plague his careers in 2019 and 2020 but would require more time in the minors before activation. Making Sale a reliever would accelerate his timeline and theoretically boost a group that has struggled all season but may be a risk because Sale hasn’t come out of the bullpen in years. From Sale’s perspective, the role doesn’t matter. After logging just 42⅔ regular season innings in a 2½-year span, he simply wants to pitch.
“At this point, nothing really matters other than getting back out there,” Sale said. “Whatever that means. You’ve seen the evolution of our pitching staff. Different guys are hot at different times.
Sale noted that the rotation being a strength of the team all season might lead to a temporary stint in the bullpen. The lefty’s first 79 career appearances came out of the bullpen for the White Sox in 2010 and 2011, so the idea of being a reliever is nothing new.
“We have the flexibility to do that. I have experience doing both and at the end of the day, whatever it is, it is,” Sale said. “For me, pitching is pitching. Strike 1, Strike 2, Strike 3, get ‘em out. Hand me the ball and I’ll throw it until you take it.”
What’s certain is that the Red Sox will continue to be extra cautious with Sale, who is earning $30 million in the second year of a five-year, $150 million extension. He joked he’d be willing to throw 30 pitches one day and 80 pitches the next but the Red Sox obviously will bring him along in a more traditional manner.
“If they let me, I’ll do it,” Sale said. “I don’t have any say, any care, any preference. I’m a blank sheet of paper. Just hand me the ball and I’m going to go throw it until (manager Alex Cora) comes out to tell me I’m not throwing it. And I’m going to give him some crap when he tries to do that.”
Sale will throw his second live batting practice session Thursday before the Red Sox decide whether he’s ready for a rehab assignment at a minor league affiliate. Regardless of the role Sale ends up in when he reaches the majors, Bush believes the lefty requires multiple rehab outings.
“We’ll have to do at least a few rehab outings to make sure he can face hitters and recover and do it again, recover, do it again and make sure that whole process works,” Bush said.
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