Sale quick to impress
Fellow pitchers like what new guy brings
FORT MYERS — Chris Sale already has scared one of his throwing partners and forced David Price to duck out of the way during a bullpen session.
In other words, a successful debut with his new Red Sox teammates.
“He threw a bullpen maybe last Tuesday, I think it was,” Price said. “Me and (Rick Porcello) just stood behind him and watched it. You can see from behind how much of a problem he causes for hitters, just with his arm angle and his deception.”
At one point when Price was throwing next to his rotation mate, he had to step back on the rubber to give the 6-foot-6 Sale some extra space.
“Trying not to get hit,” Price said. “He’s pretty lanky. If I’m on the left side of him, I have to give him a little bit more room. He’s funky. I’ve watched him for quite a few years now, and there’s really nobody that’s like him as a starter in baseball with that arm angle and his height and just how long his arms are. He can make some pretty weird swings from those hitters, so it’s going to be fun to watch.”
Yesterday, after Sale finished his workout around the same time as Joe Kelly, the two flamethrowers lined up across from one another to play catch. Kelly, who throws over 100 mph, said he could barely handle the throws from Sale.
“The first couple were kind of tough,” Kelly said. “It’s like softball. You have to change where you’re looking at. I started looking at his hip to see where the ball would come out. . . . He’s got great stuff with a little bit of funk. That’s what makes him so good. He’s one of the best pitchers in the game. To have him on our side, to get him over here, is only going to help.”
When Sale was first acquired back in December from the Chicago White Sox, some of the Red Sox started a group text.
“Everybody was going nuts,” Price said. “We couldn’t believe what had happened. We were all pretty pumped.”
Said second baseman Dustin Pedroia: “You’re adding one of the best pitchers in baseball. Just from facing him, he’s tough. He’s a huge addition. It’s going to be fun to play behind him, that’s for sure.”
The Red Sox were particularly relieved to acquire Sale without having to give up any major league talent. Left fielder Andrew Benintendi, one of the organization’s top prospects before impressing in 34 major league games last year, said he was eating at a Subway when his agent texted him, uncertain if the client would be on his way to the White Sox.
“He’s like, ‘ You’re either going to go or not in the next two minutes,’ ” Benintendi said. “I was just like, ‘Well, there’s not much I can do.’ After that two minutes was up, I saw everything on Twitter. People were texting me. Obviously, it was a big move for both sides. I’m excited he’s on our side and I’m not facing him.”
Instead of Benintendi, the Red Sox gave up top infield prospect Yoan Moncada and pitcher Michael Kopech, plus two other minor leaguers, to land Sale.
“Well, we were never planning on it,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said of not including Benintendi in the Sale trade. “That was not a goal of ours to trade him. We like him a lot. I know we’ve traded a lot of good, young players, but I think it’s important to break young players in. He’s going to be one of the young players to break in the door. But our goal was that he really was our left fielder. We never came close to trading him.”
Sale, who has not done any interviews since arriving at camp, is scheduled to meet with the media today. He’s unlikely to face the magnitude of responsibility that Price had to deal with last year after he signed a $217 million free agent contract.
Between Price and Porcello, Sale has two Cy Young winners to help lighten the load.
Said Price: “It’s good just to have another guy that’s going to help us win.”
‘You’re adding one of the best pitchers in baseball. . . . He’s a huge addition. It’s going to be fun to play behind him, that’s for sure.’
— DUSTIN PEDROIA On new Red Sox left-hander Chris Sale