Chris Sale’s magnificence makes aggressive trade incumbent on Braves

Chris Sale was excellent yet again Thursday.

In the Braves’ 6-5 win at Truist Park, he neutralized the San Diego Padres in his six-inning, 11-strikeout start, registering the 94th double-digit strikeout game of his career. Only six pitchers all-time have more.

“Sale was masterful again,” manager Walt Weiss said.

A true legend, Sale might be the supreme reason why the Braves have to be aggressive as they try to buttress their roster before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

With a 2.19 ERA (second lowest in MLB) in 19 starts, Sale is putting in another season worthy of Cy Young Award consideration. His status as a clear No. 1 postseason starter is a given.

That brilliance and its value can’t be taken for granted. Pitchers of Sale’s quality are a necessity for teams aspiring to win the World Series, and they don’t come around often. The fact he is in his age-37 season only heightens the urgency to make the best use of this baseball warrior.

“It defies logic, really,” Weiss said of Sale’s three seasons in a Braves uniform. “I mean, after all the time he missed (with injuries) in Boston and then coming here and doing what he’s done to rejuvenate an already great career at this point in his career, is amazing.”

President of baseball operations and general manager Alex Anthopoulos likes to make the point that trading for a particular piece of the puzzle — power-hitting outfielder, playoff-caliber starter, peerless closer — isn’t like ordering from DoorDash.

Sometimes, what you want just isn’t available, and forcing moves can be costly. But with holes in the rotation, it’s clear the Braves need to add. It’s incumbent on Anthopoulos to push the boundaries of what the Braves will be willing to trade.

Thursday, Sale put on display why it’s so critical. He ran into trouble in the second inning, giving up three runs via three singles (one of them on an 0-2 count), a walk and a hit batsman to put the Braves in a 3-0 hole.

All three runs were scored with two outs, and one of the singles was a pop fly to left that left fielder Mauricio Dubón misread off the bat and allowed to fall.

Sale pitched the rest of the way with steam coming out of his ears. Over his final four innings, he retired 12 of the 13 batters he faced — seven by strikeout. Only one ball, a single, left the infield. Keeping the Padres scoreless after the second, he left the game after the top of the sixth with the Braves leading 5-3.

“I just knew what my job was,” Sale said. “I wasn’t able to pick up one of my guys (Dubón). Hitting a guy, walking a guy and then giving up an 0-2 hit, that’s enough to just piss you off a little bit. I really felt like I let our guys down in that situation.”

It was the sort of competitiveness that wins playoff games. He finished the start by striking out the side in the top of the sixth, his swerving slider practically unhittable.

“You can see him when he starts rage pitching a little bit,” Weiss said. “But he reels it back in and he doesn’t let it affect him. He’s a pro, man. That’s just a great competitor when he gets angry with himself like that. And it’s always on himself, even when it’s justified for him to blame anybody else. He never does it.”

Watching him dominate, it’s easy to think he’ll cruise along like this into the sunset.

And he might. In February, the Braves awarded him a one-year, $27 million extension for 2027 with a $30 million club option for 2028.

“I feel good,” Sale said, speaking broadly about his health. “I probably sound like a broken record, but I lean on my guys here, (head trainer) George (Poulis) and his staff, and (head strength and conditioning coach) Brad (Scott) in the weight room. I really lean on those guys hard.”

But it’s not a certainty. It’s rare that pitchers perform like Sale has into their age-38 seasons and beyond.

Starting with the 2000 season, there have been only two pitchers who had seasons of at least 150 innings pitched with an ERA of 3.00 or lower in their age-38 season, according to Stathead.