Chris Sale to make third and likely final rehab start this weekend
Chris Sale will make one more rehab start this weekend before likely rejoining the Braves’ rotation for the final month of the season.
Sale, who’s recovering from a fractured rib cage, has pitched twice for Triple-A Gwinnett, most recently throwing 57 pitches. He’ll start Saturday for Double-A Columbus since Gwinnett is on the road. Sale is expected to throw around 75 to 80 pitches.
If all goes well, he could be back with the Braves for his next turn.
“I think it’ll be big for him (to finish the season healthy and pitching),” manager Brian Snitker said. “No. 1, he wants to pitch. He wants to get back and help. But it’s huge for him. Normal offseasons and real spring trainings are huge for a pitcher. I think those offseasons that they’re rehabbing, usually if you’re rehabbing, you go to spring training, it’s not regular for you. That’s big. Spring training is huge for pitchers.”
Sale was tremendous before his injury, appearing a legitimate candidate to win his second straight Cy Young award. He had a 2.52 ERA in 15 starts, striking out 114 against 26 walks.
The southpaw explained earlier this month why it was important for him to pitch again this season despite the Braves’ extremely low postseason chances.
“I don’t care what the record says. I like to compete, and I want to go out there and do my job,” Sale said.
“I’ve missed enough baseball in my career that this isn’t something that I’m OK with having being done. I think it’s important to finish a year not on the IL and be able to at least hang my hat on the fact that I was able to finish the year pitching and upright, going into the offseason, knowing that there’s no real questions or concerns or anything that I’m going to have to address.”
About the Author
Gabriel Burns is a general assignment reporter and features writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. After four years on the Braves beat, he's expanded his horizons and covers all sports. You'll find him writing about MLB, NFL, NBA, college football and other Atlanta-centric happenings.
