Why Chris Sale Landing on the DL Shouldn’t be a Concern

Two days ago, the Boston Red Sox placed ace left-hander Chris Sale on the disabled list for the second time in less than a month.

I know it is not something you like to see as a Red Sox fan, but people should not be worried about Sale’s inflamed shoulder.

First off, Sale himself said that the injury is no big deal. Sale says that his shoulder did not respond as he hoped in his start against the Orioles (where it took him just 68 pitches to strike out 12 guys).

I am not saying the shoulder is a non-issue all together, but I am completely fine with Sale resting. He has been known to flame out as the season goes on. We saw this last year in his first season in Boston as he went from no-doubt CY Young award winner to a 4.00 era guy in August, and beyond.

It was always Boston and manager Alex Cora’s idea to rest Sale throughout the season (due to his track record). With Boston running away with the division and being 51 games over .500 there is literally no point in continuing to throw Sale out there if he is experiencing any pain. I would rather have him be healed and rested so he can be pumping gas into very late October instead of firing on all cylinders in the dog days of the season.

-Jarrod Ribaudo (@Jribs53)