Now, Sale is sidelined for the foreseeable future.
“He was doing his exercises and everything (Friday) and felt like something wasn’t right,” manager Brian Snitker said. “So they had him looked at and it showed what it showed.
“It’s a freak thing. Unfortunate thing. I saw him after the game that night and he was doing his postgame workout and everything. I saw him the next day and I think he felt a little uncomfortable, but then Friday was when we wanted to get it checked out. It’s a tough blow for us and him. He was throwing so well. That’s a rough one.”
Snitker didn’t have an estimate for how long Sale would be out. The Braves recalled lefty Austin Cox to fill the open roster spot.
Sale, 36, has a 2.52 ERA in 15 starts, with 114 strikeouts and 26 walks. He’s looked every bit of a reigning Cy Young-winner lately, posting a 1.41 ERA in his past 11 outings.
“You saw that stretch he was on, he was absolutely shoving for us,” rookie catcher Drake Baldwin said. “It’s tough losing him. He’s almost irreplaceable. But we know that the next guy coming in will step up and that’s what we need at this part of the season.”
The Braves will keep Didier Fuentes, who made his MLB debut Friday, in the rotation, Snitker said. That group also includes Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, Grant Holmes and Bryce Elder. Fuentes allowed four runs across five innings in his first outing against the Marlins.
But the Sale news means a challenging campaign will get even tougher. The Braves entered Saturday 34-40, having won three consecutive series, though still trying to get above the .500 mark.
“It sucks, honestly,” Holmes said of losing Sale. “He’s a very big part of this team. Very good leader. But hopefully he’ll stay around and be with the guys. It’s a big blow but we’re going to come to the ballpark and try to put some Ws on the board every day. It sucks. He wants to be out there and we want him out there. But circumstances – it sucks.”
The Braves already lost Reynaldo Lopez and A.J. Smith-Shawver to injuries, trimming into their rotation depth. It would be reasonable to expect the Braves to explore adding a starting pitcher ahead of the trade deadline.
“It’s not the first time we’ve been through this,” Snitker said. “We’ve lost our best position players, our best pitchers all in the same year. We’ve handled it before and we will again.”
