Chris Sale Informs Red Sox He Won’t Opt Out
In the least shocking news of all time, Chris Sale has announced he has no intention to opt-out of his current contract with the Red Sox. Of course, Sale never pitches so he would be a madman to opt-out. With $55 million remaining on his contract previously signed by the Dave Dombrowski regime, Sale makes it officially official that he’s staying in Boston.
“He has told us that he is going to opt in,” Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.
In reality, this changes nothing for the Red Sox offseason outlook. The objectives are simple: Extend Rafael Devers, re-sign Xander Bogaerts, and go hunt for upgrades on the trade / free agent market. Whatever the Sox get out of Sale should be considered gravy and that’s it.
Sale, 33, has made just 11 total starts since the 2020 season. The big bad wolf might be gone for good. he’s just not healthy. The last time we saw dominant Sale was in the front half of the 2018 season. Sale closed the door in the 9th inning of the 2018 World Series team. He will always be remembered as an important part of that title team. I just don’t know if we’re ever getting that guy back again.
The Red Sox have work to do in the rotation whether Sale is part of it or not. Brayan Bello is literally the only starter next year Boston knows will be in the mix. Outside of that, Nathan Eovaldi, Rich Hill, and Michael Wacha are both free agents.
