Red Sox's Chris Sale to Undergo MRI amid Shoulder Injury; Currently on 60-Day IL

The Boston Red Sox should have a better idea of the severity of Chris Sale's injured shoulder after he undergoes an MRI on Thursday, manager Alex Cora confirmed to reporters on Wednesday.

Cora said the MRI was "to see where we're at. Obviously, we'll know more [after that]."

Sale, 34, has had a rough stretch in recent seasons. He skipped the 2020 and made just nine starts in 2021 due to Tommy John surgery and pitched just 5.2 innings in total last season due to a stress fracture in his right rib, a broken left pinkie and a broken right wrist.

This year he was 5-2 in 11 starts (59 innings) with a 4.58 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 71 strikeouts.

While he got off to a tough start in 2023, he started to round into form in May, with a 2.42 ERA and .183 batting average against in four starts.

"In the beginning it was a little bit rough, but it was part of the progression," Cora told reporters earlier in June. "When he got going, it was very close to the guy that pitched in '17 and '18 here. Velocity was up, the slider was getting there and the changeup was a work in progress. And he dominated big league lineups."

But he left his June 1 start with shoulder weakness and was initially diagnosed with shoulder inflammation. He was put on the 10-day injured list before being transferred to the 60-day injured list, keeping him out of action into August.

Later testing revealed a stress reaction to his left shoulder blade, with the hope that Thursday's MRI won't uncover anything even more serious. It was a big blow for a Red Sox team (40-40) trying to stay alive in the Wild Card picture.

"It's just kind of a gut punch," Sale told reporters earlier in June regarding his injury. "I hate feeling like this. I started having fun playing baseball again. And now, back to not having fun. That sucks."

He kept up hope that he'd be able to return, however.

"If there's anything I can prove, it's you're not going to keep me down," he said at time. "I'm just going to keep rolling. You knock me down I'm going to get back up. It's obviously not where I want to be... but I've been through this [expletive] before."

An MRI will determine exactly what he's up against this time.