The Corona is having an effect on the upcoming baseball season. With the delay in the season, now is a good time to take care of any nagging injuries. Chris Sale was having elbow problems but decided to put surgery off and rehab. Well, with no baseball going on for a while, Sale decided to reverse course and go ahead with the surgery. Chris Sale will undergo Tommy John surgery and will miss the 2020 season.
The Red Sox team account was the first to report the news:
It’s no secret that the 2020 season is going to be a lost season for the Red Sox. 2020 is all about taking a step back to add young talent so they can load back up for 2021. That’s not a secret. If there was a season to do this, now was the time. Who knows when baseball is coming back with Corona. Get the elbow problems taken care of so that Sale is a full go for around midseason of 2021. Having Sale rehab when he’s going to have issues keep popping up didn’t make any sense. Especially when we don’t know when baseball is coming back.
Sale was one of the best pitchers in baseball prior to 2019. He clearly wasn’t healthy this past year. In 2018, Sale had an ERA of 2.11. In 2019, that number jumped to 4.40. He was never healthy last year and has been dealing with arm problems for a while.
Sale is going to miss around 12-15 months after surgery. The hope is that the guy prior to 2019 will return. We’re talking about one of the best starting pitchers in the sport. The coronavirus could be a blessing in disguise here. Let’s hope we get the old Chris Sale again when he returns.
