Chris Sale to undergo Tommy John surgery

March 19th, 2020

BOSTON, MA – The Boston Red Sox announced today that left-handed pitcher Chris Sale will undergo ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery (Tommy John) on his left elbow.

Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom made the announcement.

Sale, 30, allowed 17 earned runs in his first four starts of 2019, but in his remaining 21 starts of the season he posted a 3.83 ERA (55 ER/129.1 IP) while holding opponents to a .207 batting average. He was placed on the 10-day injured list on August 17 (retroactive to August 14) with left elbow inflammation and missed the remainder of the season, receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection from Dr. James Andrews on August 19. A seven-time All-Star, Sale is 109-73 with a 3.03 ERA (548 ER/1,629.2 IP) in 312 career major league appearances (232 starts). He has struck out 30.7 percent of batters faced, the highest rate in the Live Ball Era (min. 1,000.0 IP).