Chris Sale has worked exclusively out of the bullpen through his first two seasons, establishing himself as a top-notch setup man, but White Sox general manager Ken Williams revealed yesterday that the left-hander will be moved into the starting rotation for 2012.
Sale was drafted as a starter and the White Sox have indicated all along that they viewed the rotation as his eventual home, so with Mark Buehrle looking less and less likely to re-sign it makes sense for the switch to happen now.
Sale has a 2.58 ERA, 111/37 K/BB ratio, and .199 opponents’ batting average in 94 career innings as a reliever, so it’s no doubt tempting to leave well enough alone, but Chicago is smart to see if he’s capable of thriving in a 200-inning role before locking him into a 70-inning role at age 23.
