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| Chris Sale | ATL - SP | ||||||||||||
| Throws: L | Age: 35 | Mixed 5x5: $18 | NL 5x5: $23 | |||||||||||
| 2024: Started: 29 Relieved: 0 | Mixed 2026: $9 | 2027: $2 | ||||||||||||
| Outlook: 14 years into his big-league career, Sale got his Cy Young Award when it was least expected. The left-hander received votes every year from 2012-18, but he entered last season having made 56 starts with a 4.16 ERA in the five years since that streak ended. Acquired from the Red Sox for Vaughn Grissom, Sale started 29 times for the Braves and won a career-high 18 games while leading the majors in ERA and the NL in strikeouts. Unfortunately, things did not go as hoped in the end. Due to a back problem, he made his final start on Sept. 19, though the Braves didn’t let on that anything was wrong until about 30 minutes before he was supposed to start the Game 162 clincher. He was scratched then and didn’t take part in the Wild Card loss to the Padres. Whether 2024 was a last hurrah for Sale or the beginning of a late-career renaissance remains to be seen. The soon-to-be 36-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery in 2020, missed much of 2022 with a ribcage stress fracture, a broken finger and a broken non-pitching wrist and then sat out two months with a stress reaction in his shoulder in 2023. Somehow, his stuff is just as good as ever; his 94.8 mph average fastball velocity last season edged out his previous career high. The quality should stick around, but the quantity will likely take a hit. | |||||||||||||
