Josh

Sale

Sale batted just .179/.329/.328 with three homers and one stolen base this season between Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock before being cut loose. The 31-year-old former first-round pick was hoping to finally make it to the majors after nearly a decade out of the game when he signed a minor league deal with the Rangers back in 2022. It would’ve been a pretty remarkable story, but the latest chapter casts even more doubt on him ever reaching the big leagues.

The 31-year-old former first-round pick finally got his first taste of the upper minors in 2022 -- after seven years away from affiliated ball -- slashing .229/.343/.420 with 11 homers, 33 RBI and three stolen bases in 72 games at Triple-A Round Rock. It’s good to see him getting his life and career back on track, and he should begin the 2023 campaign just one step away from his long-awaited big league debut.

Sale, selected 17th overall by the Rays in the 2010 MLB Draft, was released by Tampa Bay back in 2015 after myriad off-field issues derailed his once-promising career. The 30-year-old outfielder returned to organized baseball last year, hitting .284/.394/.593 with 34 home runs and 13 steals across 498 plate appearances for Gastonia of the independent Atlantic League. He hasn’t appeared in the minor leagues since the 2014 season, but represents an interesting gamble for a rebuilding Rangers organization.

Sale is the fourth player from Class A Bowling Green to test positive for methamphetamine and an amphetamine. The 21-year-old outfielder was selected No. 17 overall in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft and owns a .238/.345/.408 batting line over his first two seasons in pro ball.

The suspension comes on the heels of Sale bragging on his Facebook account about throwing money at a stripper. Selected 17th overall in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft, Sale was suspended 50 games last August for methamphetamine and an amphetamine and has yet to play a game this season. The Rays will have to hope that he is ready to grow up.

Sale, the No. 17 overall pick in the 2010 draft, didn’t play a single game last year, as he opened the season by serving a 50-game suspension after testing positive for a drug of abuse, and was then suspended indefinitely by the organization for disciplinary reasons. The 22-year-old, currently playing for High-A Charlotte in the Florida State League, is batting .236/.345/.361 with six extra-base hits, 15 RBI and a 21/12 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 19 games.

Sale, the 17th overall selection from the 2010 draft, was suspended for the entire 2013 season for conduct detrimental to the team. He’s a long way away from making an impact at the major league level.

Sale was also given a 50-game suspension for recreational drugs in 2012 and then got suspended indefinitely in 2013 for an incident at a strip club. The 22-year-old outfielder was the 17th overall pick in the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft. He is torching his own professional baseball career.

Sale has made way more waves off the field than on it after being selected in the first round of the 2010 Draft, getting suspended multiple times for drugs and also for an incident at a strip club. He hit just .238/.313/.344 at High-A in 2014 and the Rays have finally decided to give up on him. Sale is still just 23, but he’s looking like a long shot to ever get his career on track.

Sale, who was selected No. 17 overall, signed for around $1.62 million. With plus-power potential, the 19-year-old outfielder was regarded as one of the top high school bats of the draft.