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Boston Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale is rapidly progressing towards getting back on the mound, and this latest update should have fans feeling very excited.
Sale has been throwing more consistently as he continues to recover from Tommy John surgery. He was initially throwing side sessions, but has since progressed to throwing bullpens.
The Red Sox ace threw a bullpen at the team's Triple-A facility on Friday and mimicked facing hitters from both sides of the plate. Joe McDonald of the Worcester Telegram & Guardian reported one batter called Sale's stuff “filthy” as he walked away. Sale also said he felt “great” after throwing 40 pitches, per McDonald.
Sale tossed 40 pitches and said he felt great. He had a righty and lefty stand in and one batter walked away saying “filthy.”
— Joe McDonald (@JoeyMacHockey) June 18, 2021
The Red Sox are likely to emphasize caution as Sale continues to build. The 32-year-old has dealt with numerous issues in recent seasons, and Boston is unlikely to rush him back especially given how competitive the team has been even without him in the rotation.
However, that's not to say the Red Sox could not use a power arm like Sale anchoring the staff.
Boston's rotation got off to a strong start in the first couple months, but has begun to waver a bit especially in the past few weeks. The Red Sox entered Friday's action ranked 20th in rotation ERA, and that number is not likely to hold up well if they hope to snatch the American League East lead away from the Tampa Bay Rays.
Sale is absolutely electric when healthy. The seven-time All-Star finished in the top five in the AL Cy Young voting in every season between 2013 and 2018.
Red Sox fans will likely be clamoring to see Sale back on the bump as they continue the march to October.
