Sale suspended five games by White Sox
Ace lefty destroyed throwbacks before Saturday’s game.
The Chicago White Sox suspended ace Chris Sale five days without pay for destroying collared throwback uniforms the team was scheduled to wear.
The White Sox announced the punishment on Sunday after Sale was scratched from his scheduled start and sent home the previous night.
The suspension comes to $250,000 of his $9.15 million salary. Sale, 27, also reportedly was fined about $12,700 — the cost of the destroyed jerseys.
“Obviously we’re all extremely disappointed that we have to deal with this issue at this time both from the standpoint of the club as well as Chris’ perspective,” general manager Rick Hahn said. “It’s unfortunate that it has become this level of an issue and potential distraction taking away from what we’re trying to accomplish on the field.”
Sale was not at the ballpark on Sunday. The lefthander is eligible to return Thursday against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
FanRag Sports first reported that Sale was protesting the 1976-style jerseys, which were navy and sported unusual collars on a hot and humid night.
Sale then cut up an unknown number of jerseys before the game and was told to leave the stadium. With not enough usable 1976 jerseys available, the White Sox wore white throwback uniforms from the 1983 season.
The incident comes with the White Sox in a tailspin after a 23-10 start and Sale’s name in trade rumors.
“The actions or behaviors of the last 24 hours does not change in any aspect, any respect, our belief that Chris Sale can help this club win a championship and win multiple championships,” Hahn said. “It does not move the needle one iota in terms of his value to this club, his value to any other club that may be interested in his services or the likelihood of him being moved or kept whatsoever. None of that stuff is impacted at all by these events.”
White Sox manager Robin Ventura said he doesn’t think the incident will have an impact on whether the team will trade him. The trading deadline is Aug. 1.
“It’s something that you deal with,” he said of the suspension. “We’re going to deal with that internally and we’ll officially discuss that when he gets back here at some point.”
Ventura said starting pitchers typically are allowed to choose which uniforms the team wears on days they start. However, there are exceptions, such as promotional days.
“Everybody wears a uniform that they don’t necessarily like, but you wear it,” Ventura said. “If you want to rip it after, you can rip it up after. I’ve seen guys rip it up after.”
Sale (14-3 with a 3.18 ERA) is a five-time All-Star and started for the AL in this month’s All-Star Game.
Third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert went 0 for 4 Sunday, snapping his 12-game hitting streak, the longest by a Royals rookie since Mike Moustakas’ 15-game streak in 2011.
Nationals: Outfielder Jayson Werth extended his on-base streak to 28 games with a walk in the first inning Sunday. It is the longest active streak in the majors and a game shy of the longest streak of Werth’s career.
Giants: First baseman Brandon Belt was 2 for 33 (.061) and shortstop Brandon Crawford went 6 for 33 (.182) with no RBIs on their 1-7 road trip to San Diego, Boston and New York.
Indians: Cleveland lost the season series to Baltimore 5-1 after being outscored 15-6 in three games at Camden Yards.
Blue Jays: Reliever Drew Storen was designated for assignment and right-hander Ryan Tepera was recalled from Triple-A. Toronto acquired Storen from Washington in January for outfielder Ben Revere, but went 1-3 with a 6.21 ERA and three saves for the Blue Jays.