NORTH PORT, Fla. -- A couple weeks after saying he would like to end his career with the Braves, Chris Sale has created the opportunity to pitch in Atlanta for a few more years.
Sale and the Braves have agreed on a one-year, $27 million contract that includes a $30 million option for 2028. The 2024 Cy Young Award winner and Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos will speak to the media Tuesday morning.
“I’m hoping Chris Sale is here as long as he wants to go and that would be our goal,” Anthopoulos said on Feb. 13. “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.”
Anthopoulos’ response came about an hour after Sale said he would like to retire with the Braves.
“I really like being here,” Sale said. “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.”
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.”