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With the Atlanta Braves' roster getting more crowded after the team traded for pitcher Hunter Stratton, it needed to clear room on the 40-man roster. To do that, the Braves have moved Chris Sale to the 60-day injured list.
Atlanta acquired Stratton from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday, sending minor league outfielder Titus Dumitru and cash to Pittsburgh in return.
Sale heading to the 60-day IL is really just a clerical move so that Stratton can be added to the 40-man. Still, it's discouraging for Braves fans who were hoping their ace could return quickly after fracturing his rib in his most recent start. Instead, he will have to sit at least two months.
It means Sale will be eligible to return in mid-August, which would give him plenty of time to get back into form before the postseason. The problem, of course, is that the Braves are unlikely to get to October as it is, and losing their ace only makes their road back tougher.
Heading into play on Tuesday, Atlanta is seven games under .500 and 7.5 games out of the National League Wild Card race. If the Braves decide not to sell at the trade deadline — and to go all-in on making a run this year, it will need to start winning games in bunches without the reigning Cy Young winner.
Braves manager Brian Snitker shared his frustration with Sale's injury, which comes as Spencer Strider is still getting his bearings after missing almost all of last year and the start of this year with a UCL injury.
“[Strider] is getting his thing together and the other guys, and then you lose a guy like that,” Snitker said on Saturday, via MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. “It’s hard. You can’t replace Chris Sale.”
From Sale's perspective, the timing is unfortunate. After a maddening start to the season in which he had a 6.63 ERA but only a 3.72 FIP, he has been dominant since mid-April. In his last 11 starts, he has a 1.41 ERA with 90 strikeouts in 70.1 innings.
