SOLD! ChiSox trade Sale to Boston
OXON HILL, Md.—No surprise that Chris Sale got traded, it was time to go. The real shocker? That the Boston Red Sox swooped in to snag him.
The reloading Red Sox pulled off the biggest deal yet at the winter meetings, acquiring the dominant ace from the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday for a hefty package of four prospects.
“The ability to get a Chris Sale doesn’t come along very often,” Boston president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said.
Sale joins an already talented rotation with the AL East champions, now pitching alongside 2016 AL Young Award winner Rick Porcello, former winner David Price and knuckleballer Steven Wright. He leaves behind a shredded reputation in Chicago, suspended by the team last summer after he flew into a rage and cut up retro uniforms that club was supposed to wear.
The 27-year-old Sale has been an All-Star in each of the last
five seasons, finishing high in Cy Young Award voting every time, but has never played in the postseason. To get him, Boston traded four minor leaguers: high-priced third baseman Yoan Moncada, considered by many the top young talent in baseball, along with pitchers Michael Kopech, of Mount Pleasant, and Victor Diaz, and outfielder Luis Basabe.
Sale was a top trade target across the majors this offseason, and the Washington Nationals seemed to be the favorites to land him this week.
Said Nationals GM Mike Rizzo: “We put a lot of effort into it and thought we made a good, valiant effort ... and we fell short.”
Dombrowski said the Red Sox had talked on-and-off to Chicago about Sale over the years, but “we really didn’t have any ongoing conversations.” The sides began speaking in earnest on Friday and “it accelerated,” he said.
To New York Mets manager Terry Collins, it was a great deal—for him, being division rivals of the NL East champion Nationals.
“I really thought for sure he was going to end up in Washington. I really did,” Collins said. “We dodged a bullet.”
A few hours earlier, Boston got prime setup man Tyler Thornburg from Milwaukee. After that deal was announced, Dombrowski said, “We’re trying to win now, as you can see.”
Few knew then exactly how hard the man fittingly wearing bright red socks was trying.
Sale was 17-10 with a 3.34 ERA and 233 strikeouts this year, a season after he led the majors by fanning 274. He also comes with his benefit: a team-favorable contract that calls for a $12 million salary next year and includes club options for 2018 at $12.5 million and 2019 at $15 million.
Drafted by the White Sox in 2010, Sale became a starter in 2012 and zoomed into a star.
“In between the lines, he pitches with an edge,” Red Sox manager John Farrell observed. “His numbers and performance speak for themselves, but I think there is maybe a persona that he projects certainly across the field.”