Chris Sale breaks wrist in bicycle accident, will miss remainder of season
BOSTON -- Chris Sale will not be returning to the field for the Red Sox in 2022, after the left-hander suffered an injury from a bicycle accident.
The Red Sox announced that Sale underwent surgery for a wrist fracture on Monday, after crashing his bicycle on Saturday.
Sale suffered a broken rib before the season, and he didn't make his season debut until July 12. That return lasted just two starts, though, as he was hit in the left pinkie by a line drive against the Yankees on July 17.
That left pinkie injury threatened his 2022 season anyway, as it required surgery. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, though, said that the Red Sox did believe Sale would have returned to the field this year after he began throwing last week. The new wrist surgery -- on his right wrist -- now ensures that Sale won't pitch again this season.
The Red Sox said that Sale "is expected to be ready for the start of spring training in 2023."
Sale signed a five-year, $145 million contract extension with the Red Sox after they won the World Series in 2018. He is 11-13 with a 4.09 ERA in 36 games since signing that deal.
Sale did not pitch at all in the 2020 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in the spring. He returned to pitch just nine games last year before pitching twice for the Red Sox this season. Sale has two years remaining on his contract, due to earn $27.5 million per year in 2023 and 2024. His contract has a $20 million club option for 2025.
