Atlanta Braves ace Chris Sale has agreed on a one-year contract extension worth $27 million, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. The Braves confirmed the extension in a press release on Tuesday morning.
The deal also has a $30 million club option for the 2028 season. Sale was set to hit free agency after the upcoming 2026 campaign, but now the 36-year-old (he'll be 37 in just over a month) is set to stick around Atlanta for a while longer and potentially until the end of his career.
Sale is entering his third season with the Braves after coming over in a 2023 trade with the Boston Red Sox. After several injury-plagued years to end his Red Sox tenure, the lefty immediately regained his form in Atlanta, winning the Cy Young Award in 2024. He went 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and struck out 225 batters in 177 2/3 innings during that dominant campaign.
Sale wasn't quite as good last season and did miss some extended time due to a fractured rib, but he still earned his ninth All-Star bid. He went 7-5 with a 2.58 ERA and 165 strikeouts in 125 2/3 innings.
Chris Sale trying to lead Braves bounce-back season
The Braves faltered to a 76-86 record in 2025 after seven straight playoff appearances, including a World Series victory in 2021. With Sale healthy and Spencer Strider hoping to regain his form from several years ago, Atlanta could have a dynamite 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation.
However, some early pitching injuries are a cause for concern. Both Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep required surgery for their respective injuries suffered at the start of spring training, leaving the Braves a bit short in the rotation. Lucas Giolito has been named as a possible target, but nothing has come to fruition yet.
Atlanta should have an impressive lineup with Ronald Acuna Jr. at the top, but you can never have enough pitching, so it would behoove them to upgrade in that area. But for the time being, locking up Chris Sale is a good move.
