Red Sox's Chris Sale Won't Be Ready for Start of Season Because of Rib Injury

Boston Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale will miss the start of the regular season because of a rib injury.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom announced on Wednesday that Sale has a stress fracture in his rib cage.

No timetable was given for a potential return, but Bloom did note it will be weeks, not days. 

Sale is coming off a strong season after working his way back from Tommy John surgery that cost him the entire 2020 season.

The recovery kept him out until August 2021, but he excelled upon his return with a 5-1 record and 3.16 ERA in nine starts. The production for a shorthanded rotation helped the Red Sox reach the playoffs and eventually advance to the American League Championship Series.

It showed the pitcher's upside when healthy, adding to a resume that includes seven All-Star selections from 2012-18 while finishing in the top six of Cy Young voting in each of those seasons.  Sale produced a 2.91 ERA with an incredible 5.59 strikeout-to-walk ratio in this stretch, leading to 99 wins.

Boston needs this production to stay competitive in the AL East, but the latest injury could be a problem if it forces him to miss an extended stretch. The absence would put a lot of pressure on Nathan Eovaldi and the rest of the staff to pick up the slack going forward in 2022. 

Nick Pivetta, Rich Hill and Michael Wacha are the other projected starters in Boston's rotation right now. 

The Red Sox will open the regular season on April 7 against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.