Sale discusses elbow injury, says Tommy John surgery still possible
FORT MYERS » Red Sox lefty Chris Sale has a flexor strain in his throwing elbow, but will try to pitch through it.
Tommy John surgery remains a possibility, Sale said during an emotional press conference at JetBlue Park Thursday morning.
He’ll rest for at least a week, then start building back up as if spring training were starting all over again. If his elbow responds well, he’ll try to pitch through the season. If not, surgery is likely. “That’s what the future holds for me,” he said. “That’s what we determine in two or three weeks.”
Sale had an MRI that was reviewed by team doctors as well as Dr. Neal ElAttrache and Dr. James Andrews. The images revealed only a flexor strain and Sale’s ulnar collateral ligament looks the same as it looked last August, when Sale first felt pain in his elbow.
“Talked to many doctors, I’m not exactly sure how many, but at least a handful,” Sale said. “Top guys, world renown, and they seem confident and everyone agreed, ‘hey let’s take some time off, get some anti-inflammatories in there, start another throwing program and see what we get.’
That Sale will avoid Tommy John surgery right now provides a slim ray of hope, but Sale was quite honest about his future if the elbow tightness and soreness don’t go away.
“It sucks,” he said. “Obviously don’t want to be sitting here giving you this information. It’s a tough spot for myself, this team and the organization going for
ward.”
Having made just 25 starts since signing a fiveyear, $145-million contract extension last spring has made this more difficult for Sale to swallow. Knowing the Red Sox will struggle to compete without him adds to the pressure.
“That’s what makes it tough to sleep,” he said. “I know what I mean to this organization, to this team, the success going forward. And I know the faith they put in me. That’s evident in the press conference I had in spring training last year with the contract.
“I couldn’t possibly feel worse about any situation I’ve ever felt in my entire life because of that. Plain and simple. I don’t think I’ve ever let anybody down this hard, ever. And that sucks. Honestly. Honesty. That sucks. Someone gives you something because they believe in you, they expect something from you and you don’t live up to that.”