The Red Sox haven’t been short of veteran leadership this season, whether it’s JD Martinez and Xander Bogaerts setting the pace for the offense, Matt Barnes setting the tone in the bullpen or Nathan Eovaldi leading a surprisingly effective rotation.
However, when it comes to leaders, few set a better example than Chris Sale. As the left-handed ace prepares to make his first rehab start this weekend in Fort Myers in hopes of rejoining the rotation sooner rather than later, it is worth considering what his return could mean not just from a perspective on the field, but also one of the club.
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“Obviously, we’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” baseball director Chaim Bloom said recently on “Talkin ‘Baseball.”
Hopefully at some point we are ready to activate it and place it in our rotation. We are not going to have a problem finding a place for Chris Sale. Now if we are still in a position like we are now, good fortune and good work. that we have had with our health continues and we have a difficult decision on our hands, it is fine. It is never a problem to have more men. We would love to always have that problem and we will be ready when it arrives. “
Sale has a towering figure on the 6-foot-6-inch mound, with a wingspan that long ago earned him the nickname “El Cóndor.” He’s an equally important behind-the-scenes presence, where his intensity and professionalism set the tone for more than just the pitching staff.
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There’s a reason the Red Sox managed Sale to record the final three outs of the 2018 World Series, even though he wasn’t 100 percent. As the best pitcher on the best baseball team, they felt they had earned the right to shut things down, and when he dropped Manny Machado to one knee for the final third strike, it was mission accomplished.
But the problems that plagued him at the end of that season carried over to 2019, and in March 2020, after exhausting all hopes of a natural recovery, he underwent Tommy John surgery. He has been rehabbing ever since, with early setbacks including a fight with COVID that slowed his progress.
He’s been building momentum for months, though, and if all goes well at the start of Thursday’s two-inning rookie league, he’ll be one day closer to rejoining a team he thinks could make a difference in the pursuit of a World Series title.
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“We have a plan to prepare and we have a backup plan in case there are setbacks, but it’s normal,” pitching coach Dave Bush said recently. “Almost everyone somewhere along the way has a game or an outing where they don’t feel right and they have to step back and then rebuild a little bit.
“For some of the other guys who had surgery around the same time as Chris, their setbacks have been recent. Chris dealt with that a little earlier and he’s been progressing pretty well lately.”
Sale last pitched a pitch that mattered in August 2019 against the Cleveland Indians. Francisco Lindor broke it down the left field line for a two-run double. The 16 months since then have been a miasma of starts and stops, dashed hopes and despair.
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Now, as Sale’s return approaches, the Red Sox are beginning to indulge in a thoughtful life with him at the helm of their rotation, just like old times.
“We know what Chris Sale looks like, when he’s 100 percent,” Bloom said recently. “He’s one of the best pitchers in the game.”
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