Perhaps the most significant trade of the offseason was made by the Atlanta Braves.
There’s a method to how the Atlanta Braves win trades.
And it’s possible that they accomplished another “heist”.
In his post-deal media conference, veteran lefty Chris Sale—acquired from the Boston Red Sox in a straight swap (plus cash) for infielder Vaughn Grissom—told us he was feeling better than he has in a long time. He reiterated the same sentiment upon reporting for spring training.
It appears that he could have been correct.
Sale made his Grapefruit League debut for Atlanta against the Pittsburgh Pirates, pitching two scoreless innings with four strikeouts, no walks, and no hits. The Pirates only had two batters put balls in play; in the first inning, Bryan Reynolds, the left fielder, flew out to right field, and Ke’Bryan Hayes, the third baseman, grounded out to short.
In the second inning, Sale blasted fastballs at speeds of 95 and 97 mph to strike out the side. He also showed off his slider and changeup, getting two swinging strikeouts and a foul tip against a Pirates lineup that was largely composed of MLB players.
In comparison, after fighting through a 60-day injury list stint due to a stress response in his shoulder blade, Sale averaged 93.9 mph on his fastball last season, according to MLB Statcast. In 2023, just 3% of Sale’s fastballs (25 of 824) had a velocity of 97 mph or above. Sale did pitch 102.2 innings in 2023 despite the ailments, which was his greatest single-season total since he threw 147.1 innings in 2019.
Since the deal was made, fans and people outside of Atlanta have been speculating about Sale’s health. With Sale’s age-35 and age-36 seasons secured, Atlanta swiftly signed him to a two-year agreement, decreasing his CBT hit and turning his 2025 vesting option into a 2026 club option.
At the time, the agreement was seen as risky because Sale had missed a lot of time since the 2019 season and had only pitched less than 150 innings due to rib injuries, broken fingers, and Tommy John surgery in 2020.
But Sale informed us following the trade that he was healthy “for the first time since 2018” and that he had been able to complete a throwing programme in addition to having an offseason free of rehabilitation. He was already at the Braves facility in North Port, having thrown a whole bullpen before stopping by to speak with the media the afternoon after the agreement was formally signed.
Atlanta is therefore hoping that its decision to sign Sale rather than pay the Chicago White Sox’s Dylan Cease’s rumoured asking price—which president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos referred to as “too expensive” during Braves Fest—will pay off in October.
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