Braves' Chris Sale Placed on IL With Fractured Rib Cage Injury; Austin Cox Recalled

The Atlanta Braves placed starting pitcher Chris Sale on the 15-day injured list due to a fractured left ribcage, the team announced Saturday.

Atlanta also recalled reliever Austin Cox from Triple-A Gwinnett.

The exact incident that caused Sale's injury is unknown, but it's worth noting that he made a diving play to grab a ground ball in the ninth inning of his latest start against the New York Mets on Wednesday.

“He was doing his exercises yesterday and felt like something wasn’t right, so they had him looked at and it showed what it showed," Braves manager Brian Snitker said, per MLB.com.

"With bones like that, they’ve got to heal before you can start the process, but I have no idea how long it will be," he added.

After winning the 2024 National League Cy Young Award, Sale looked sharp to open the 2025 season. In 15 starts, he posted a 2.52 ERA and 1.164 WHIP while averaging 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

Sale has been performing at an especially high level as of late, owning a 0.78 ERA over his past five starts.

Despite his impressive individual production, Atlanta has failed to meet expectations this season. The Braves have a 34-40 record, holding the No. 3 spot in the NL East standings and sitting six games back from the final wild card spot.

As for Sale, the 36-year-old is under club control through the 2026 season before he's set to enter free agency in 2027.

Still, Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos shut down trade speculation involving the veteran pitcher on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Cox has compiled a 4.21 ERA and 1.519 WHIP across 22 Triple-A appearances in 2025.