Sale gets warm greeting in return from suspension

CHICAGO » Chris Sale arrived on the last player bus to Wrigley Field dressed in a dark suit, walked into the cramped visiting clubhouse, scanned the room and smiled.

He hugged teammates Dioner Navarro and Matt Albers, then did a lap around the clubhouse, greeting each player sitting at his locker.

“Good to see you, pal,” third baseman Todd Frazier said.

Chicago White Sox players warmly greeted their ace as the five-time AllStar returned to the team Thursday following his jersey-tearing incident last weekend that earned him a five-day suspension. Sale was to start later against the crosstown Cubs.

“It’s weird, it’s a crazy situation,” Navarro said, “but I think if somebody can handle it it’s him.”

The White Sox optioned right-hander Anthony Ranaudo to Triple-A Charlotte to open a roster spot as Sale was reinstated from the suspended list.

Sale, like most starting pitchers, didn’t talk to reporters before the game.

The left-hander tore up 1976-era throwback jerseys he didn’t want to wear for his last scheduled start Saturday against Detroit. The White Sox scratched Sale, sent him home and a day later suspended him five days for “insubordination and for destroying team equipment.”

Sale later told MLB.com that he stood by his actions and suggested manager Robin Ventura should have stood up for him.