Sale places titles over status with Red Sox
BOSTON— Chris Sale said he isn’t worried that he might not be the ace of the Boston pitching staff after being added to a Red Sox rotation that already includes David Price and reigning American League Cy Young winner Rick Porcello.
“We play for a trophy, not a tag,” Sale said on a conference call Wednesday, a day after the AL East champions acquired him from the Chicago White Sox for a package of four minor leaguers that includes No. 1 prospect Yoan Moncada. “It takes some pressure off of everybody. Just go out there and pitch, because you don’t feel like you have this huge weight on your shoulders to win this game.”
A-five-time All-Star who finished in the top six of the Cy Young voting the last five years, Sale was traded to Boston on Tuesday at the winter meetings for four prospects — including Moncada, who is Baseball America’s reigning minor leaguer of the year. Sale was the premier pitcher on the market following a season of spats with White Sox management over clubhouse issues.
Among them: an incident in which Sale was suspended for five days after taking a scissors to the day’s throwback uniforms because he said they were uncomfortable. (He also had to pay for the shredded jerseys.) During spring training, Sale also complained about new limits on Adam LaRoche’s son hanging around the clubhouse, a management decision that prompted LaRoche to retire.
“It didn’t work out. I really wish it did,” Sale said on Wednesday. “I appreciate my time with the White Sox and I’m looking forward to the next chapter.”
The next chapter brings him to Boston, where he will join Price and Porcello in a lefty-heavy rotation that also could include All-Star Steven Wright, Eduardo Rodriguez, Drew Pomeranz and Clay Buchholz. Asked before the official start of winter who his opening day starter will be, manager John Farrell said, “We’ll have plenty of time to figure that out.”
Sale was 17-10 with a 3.34 ERA and 233 strikeouts this season. He is due to make $12 million (U.S.) next year, with club options that could keep him in Boston for two more years at $12.5 million and $15 million.
The relatively affordable contract had contenders coveting him since last year’s trading deadline and the White Sox knew he was their best trading chip if they were going to rebuild the roster that finished fourth in the AL Central last year.
Sale’s deal made him even more attractive to the Red Sox, who are trying to remain under the luxury tax threshold. It also made it easier for them to eat the $31.5-million signing bonus they are paying 21-year-old Moncada — the largest ever for an amateur player; the amount was doubled as a penalty for exceeding their international signing cap.
In a brief stint in the majors this season, Moncada batted .211with one RBI in eight games.
“You don’t feel like you have this huge weight on your shoulders to win this game.”
CHRIS SALE
FIVE-TIME ALL-STAR