Chris Sale's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale (back), who was named the 2024 National League Cy Young winner on Wednesday, won't have his offseason hampered at all by the back spasms that he dealt with at the tail end of the season. Sale was unable to take his final turn of the regular season against the division-rival New York Mets in the regular season and then also wasn't available for the Braves in the wild-card series against the San Diego Padres. However, had Atlanta advanced to the NL Division Series, he would have started Game 3 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It's great news for the 35-year-old southpaw as he looks for an encore in 2025 with the Braves. He posted a 2.38 ERA and 1.01 WHIP with 225 K's and only 39 walks in 177 2/3 innings in his first year in Atlanta. Sale obviously has ace upside, but there's also high bust potential because of his lengthy injury history.

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale won the NL Cy Young Award on Wednesday, the first time the 35-year-old has won the award in his 15-year career, despite finishing in the top five in six consecutive seasons from 2013-18. The lefty went 18-3 while posting a 2.38 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and a 26.5% K-BB% while earning a trip to the All-Star game for the eighth time. The veteran also won his first career Gold Glove award in 2024. It looks like the Braves won this trade with the Red Sox, as Vaughn Grissom was sent to the Red Sox in exchange for Sale, and Grissom played just 31 games this season due to injury, posting just a .190/.246/.219. Hopefully Sale's injury issues are behind him and he can continue to pitch a few more years with this type of effectiveness before any age-related decline kicks in. The southpaw was quite the value in fantasy drafts in 2024, but he will cost much more in 2025.

Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale (back) threw a side session on Friday and felt great. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos told Sale earlier this week that he would have been on the roster for the National League Division Series had the Braves advanced past the San Diego Padres in the Wild-Card Series. Sale had to be scratched from Game 2 of Monday's divisional doubleheader against the New York Mets and then was unavailable to pitch in either of the two games of the Wild-Card Series in San Diego on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was a disappointing end of the season for the 35-year-old veteran, who is the front-runner to win the National League Cy Young this year after going 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 225 strikeouts in 177 2/3 innings over his 29 starts in his first year with the Braves. The eight-time All-Star obviously still has lots of upside, but he's also a big injury risk at his age.

Atlanta Braves left-hander Chris Sale (back), the favorite to win the National League Cy Young award in 2024, is officially out for the wild-card series against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park this week, as he was left off the team's playoff roster. Sale was scratched from Game 2 of the doubleheader against the division-rival New York Mets in a must-win game on Monday. If the Braves pull the upset over the Padres in the wild-card series and advance to the NLDS to face the Los Angeles Dodgers, it's unknown if Sale would be able to make a return. Atlanta is going with AJ Smith-Shawver to start Game 1 against SD on Tuesday evening. Losing the NL's best pitcher at the most important time of the year is obviously really bad news for the Braves. Sale went 18-3 in 2024 with a 2.38 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 225 strikeouts and only 39 walks in 177 2/3 innings over his 29 starts in his first year with Atlanta.

Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker said he doesn't expect left-hander Chris Sale (back) to be available for the wild-card series in San Diego this week against the Padres. It comes after the Braves had to scratch Sale from a must-win game in a doubleheader at Truist Park on Monday versus the division-rival New York Mets due to back spasms. It's a massive blow for the Braves, as the 35-year-old veteran southpaw is the front-runner to win the National League Cy Young award in 2024 after going 18-3 with a league-leading 2.38 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP, a league-leading 225 strikeouts and 39 walks in 177 2/3 innings over 29 starts in his 14th year in the majors. It's unclear if Sale will be available for the Braves if they advance to the NL Division Series to face the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sale last started on Sept. 19 against the Cincinnati Reds, so if he does return and pitch in the postseason, you'd have to wonder if he'd be on some sort of pitch count. The Braves will move forward with Max Fried, Charlie Morton and Reynaldo Lopez for now against SD.