Chris Sale unsurprisingly exercised his player option with the Boston Red Sox ahead of MLB free agency, per The Boston Globe's Alex Speier. Sale will now remain in Boston for the final 2 years of his 5-year, $145 million dollar contract. He is set to make $55 million over the next 2 seasons.
It would have been shocking to see Sale opt-out of his deal. Despite featuring no shortage of talent, the All-Star left-hander has struggled to stay healthy throughout his Red Sox contract up to this point.
Chaim Bloom even joked about a Chris Sale voodoo doll after the pitcher suffered yet another injury in 2022.
“We need to dispatch some people to find whoever has the Chris Sale voodoo doll and recover it,” Bloom said during the season.
Chris Sale missed the 2020 campaign for Boston. He's since pitched in a total of 11 regular season games over the course of the past two years. Sale has posted a 3.17 ERA during that time frame. When healthy, the 33-year old is productive.
The Red Sox are crossing their fingers and hoping that he will find a way to stay on the diamond over the next two years. If injuries continue to weigh him down, this contract will be considered a failure for the most part.
With that being said, Chris Sale was a key piece to the Red Sox' 2018 World Series winning team. Regardless of what happens moving forward, Sale will have won a ring in Boston.
Nevertheless, it will be difficult for the Red Sox to compete if injuries define Sale's next two seasons.
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