Sale breaks foot in ‘freak accident’
Cuba could host exhibition games
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale is out for at least three weeks after breaking a bone in his right foot in what the team described as an accident at home.
Unloading the back of his truck, general manager Rick Hahn explained Saturday.
Sale, though, told quite a different tale. Asked what happened, the three-time All-Star launched into a longer story, deadpanning the whole way, about some intruder breaking into his house at night.
“So I hit him with a roundhouse, tied him up” and put him by the curb, Sale told reporters.
Asked if he was concerned about his foot, Sale went on with a straight face: “Well, yeah, by looking at the other guy’s head when I kicked him, it didn’t look good.
“Initially I was a little worried, but after the X-rays and all that stuff, it worked out,” he said. “I don’t see this trickling into the regular season at all.”
The 25-year-old lefty was on crutches in camp, and the injury put in jeopardy a possible start for him on Opening Day. The White Sox begin April 6 at Kansas City.
“Things happen. It was really just a freak incident,” Sale said.
Sale had X-rays Saturday at a hospital in Glendale. He’ll have more tests after the swelling goes down.
CUBA EXHIBITIONS: Major League Baseball is considering playing future spring training games in Cuba.
Players’ union President Tony Clark said Saturday there have been “ongoing” discussions about playing exhibition games in Cuba, which recently renewed diplomatic ties with the United States. Clark said there were conversations about Cuba hosting games this spring, but there wasn’t enough time to finalize details.
Cuba and the U.S. have a longtime connection through baseball. Several Cuban-born players have become stars on MLB teams.
Major league teams regularly held spring training camps in Cuba in the 1940s and ’50s. The Cincinnati Reds had a Triple-A affiliate, the Havana Sugar Kings, before Fidel Castro banned professional sports.
The Baltimore Orioles played a two-game exhibition series against the Cuban national team in 1999. The first game in Havana was the first by a major league team in 40 years.
PIERRE: Outfielder Juan Pierre announced his retirement Friday after a 14-year career in the majors that included a World Series championship with the 2003 Florida Marlins.
Pierre, 37, broke into the majors in 2000 with the Rockies and also played for the Cubs, White Sox, Dodgers and Phillies. He batted .247 in 113 games with the Marlins in his final season in 2013.
HALL OF FAME CLAS
SIC: Hall of Famers Rollie Fingers, Tom Glavine, Phil Niekro and Ozzie Smith are returning to Doubleday Field for the annual Hall of Fame Classic in Cooperstown, N.Y., on May 23.
Players already committed to appear include former Dodgers star Ron Cey, Alan Trammell of the Tigers, Travis Fryman of the Indians, Jacque Jones of the Twins, Roy Oswalt of the Astros, Kerry Robinson of the St. Louis Cardinals, Aaron Rowand of the White Sox and Dan Wheeler of the Rays.
RAYS: Tampa Bay righthanded relief pitcher Ronald Belisario fractured his nonthrowing shoulder getting out of a pool in Venezuela last month and is not expected to be ready for the start of the season. The team said Saturday that Belisario will be sidelined indefinitely.
YANKEES: Alex Rodriguez might be in New York’s lineup for Tuesday’s spring training opener against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi said a decision will come Monday.