Sale eager to continue late-career resurgence, not sweating contract uncertainty

This story was excerpted from Mark Bowman’s Braves Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

NORTH PORT, Fla. -- It’s been a little more than two years since Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos fleeced the Red Sox by trading them Vaughn Grissom in exchange for Chris Sale and $17 million.

Sure, there were concerns about Sale, who had totaled 31 starts over the previous four seasons combined. But the Braves were given enough money to cover his 2024 salary, and they really didn’t have to give up anything in Grissom, who at the time of the deal looked like a utility man at best.

The deal favored the Braves from the start. But nobody could have predicted it would be as lopsided as it has been. Grissom was a bust in Boston and he’s now with the Angels. As for Sale, he has become one of the most beloved players in the Braves' clubhouse. His hope to spend a few more years anchoring Atlanta’s rotation is shared by the team’s decision-makers.

“I’m hoping Chris Sale is here as long as he wants to go and that would be our goal,” Anthopoulos said. “He’s one of my favorite players I've had as a GM. I'm grateful I've had a chance to be part of his career and be a part of a team that has had him. Those guys are so hard to find and the value beyond what they do on the field is just immense. So, the hope is that he plays as long as he wants to, and it's going to be with the Braves.”

As Sale enters the final guaranteed year of his contract, would he be open to that?

“I would like to,” Sale said. “I really like being here. These guys obviously gave me a shot and kind of picked me up from off the ground after I exited 2023 kind of limping into the offseason. Everyone's been great to me here and I have really enjoyed being here.”

• Challenge balls and strikes? 9-time All-Star Sale says he'll 'never' do it

Sale will turn 37 a few days after he makes what is an expected second straight Opening Day start for the Braves. He won the 2024 NL Cy Young Award and he would have likely been in the running again last year, had he not broken a rib while diving to stop a grounder during the ninth inning of a dominant start against the Mets in late June.

While posting a 2.46 ERA over 50 appearances (49 starts) for the Braves over the past two seasons, Sale has strengthened his Hall of Fame resume. At the same time, he has shown those around him how to compete and how to be a great teammate. That one relief appearance he had? It was to allow Charlie Morton to make one last start in last year’s regular-season finale.

“He’s one of the more impressive big leaguers I’ve ever been around,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “Taking everything into consideration, the way he works, the way he competes, the things he's accomplished, he's got zero diva in him. And we’re talking about a guy who is a Hall of Famer. You couldn’t make it up in the lab any better than what Chris Sale brings.”

Despite missing a little more than two months last year, Sale still ranks 10th among all MLB pitchers in strikeouts over the past two seasons. He also ranks second among starters with a 32% strikeout rate, trailing only Garrett Crochet (32.9%). He’s back to being the dominant pitcher he was when he finished in the top six in AL Cy Young balloting over seven straight years from 2012-18.

Pretty impressive, when you consider Sale entered 2024 understanding that it might be his last season. So, it’s easy to understand why he provided this answer when asked how grateful he is to approach the upcoming season knowing he might have a few years left.

“I’ve honestly never really been in this position before, not really knowing what's going on next year,” Sale said. “But I don't really worry myself with that. I don't wear a suit. I'm not a businessman. I'm a baseball player. So my job is to show up here and play baseball, and that's what I'm going to do, whether I’ve got five more years or five more days, I have a job to do. But I guess last time I said I was gonna retire, it ended up being good. So I’m going to retire.”