The Braves and Crimson Sox have agreed to a significant commerce, as left-hander Chris Sale will head to Atlanta in trade for infield prospect Vaughn Grissom, ESPN’s Jeff Passan experiences. The Sox may even embody $17MM within the deal to assist cowl Sale’s $27.5MM wage for the 2024 season, as per the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. Sale had a full no-trade clause that he has waived to facilitate the transfer.
The shocking transfer ends Sale’s tumultuous run in Boston after seven years and 6 seasons, as Sale missed all the 2020 marketing campaign. After buying Sale as a part of a blockbuster take care of the White Sox in December 2016, Sale pitched brilliantly in his first two seasons at Fenway, twice ending within the high 4 in AL Cy Younger Award voting and enjoying a giant position in Boston’s World Sequence title in 2018.
Since 2019 was the final yr of Sale’s earlier contract, the Crimson Sox have been aggressive in locking up their ace, signing him to a five-year, $145MM extension overlaying the 2020-24 seasons, with a $20MM membership possibility for the 2025 marketing campaign. Sadly, this extension has confirmed to be a giant misfire, as Sale began to run into harm issues even late within the 2018 marketing campaign. He was shut down in August 2019 with elbow irritation and acquired a PRP injection, but that elbow challenge was solely the harbinger for the Tommy John surgical procedure that value Sale his whole 2020 season and most of his 2021 marketing campaign.
The dangerous harm luck continued during the last two seasons, as Sale was sidelined by a wide selection of maladies together with a stress response in his ribs, a fractured finger, a damaged wrist (suffered in a bicycle accident), and a stress response in his shoulder blade. Sale tossed solely 48 1/3 innings complete in 2021-22, whereas rebounding to some extent to pitch 102 2/3 frames final season.
Sale’s 93.9mph fastball velocity in 2023 barely topped his profession common, whereas his strikeout, stroll, and hard-hit ball charges have been all effectively above the league common. Whereas the southpaw might by no means get again to his previous elite type, Sale’s 2023 efficiency at the least indicated that he nonetheless has a superb deal left within the tank as he enters his age-35 season, supplied that he can simply keep on the sector.
That is precisely what the Braves are relying on from Sale as a 3rd or perhaps a fourth starter, behind Max Fried, Spencer Strider, and Charlie Morton within the group’s rotation. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos is counting in Sale’s upside to bolster the pitching employees, and Atlanta’s assortment of youthful arms (AJ Smith-Shawver, Dylan Dodd, Huascar Ynoa, Darius Vines, and high prospect Hurston Waldrep) and swingman Reynaldo Lopez can present further depth ought to Sale or anybody else within the rotation want time on the injured listing.
In typical Anthopoulos trend, this specific commerce got here out of nowhere, even when the Braves have been identified to be searching for some pitching assist. Atlanta made a powerful massive for Aaron Nola earlier than he re-signed with the Phillies, and such free agent and commerce targets as Tyler Glasnow, Dylan Stop, Sonny Grey, and Seth Lugo have been additionally linked to the Braves on the rumor mill.
As a result of Sale’s extension the Crimson Sox contained $10MM of deferred cash per season, he’ll value the Braves merely $500K in precise wage in 2024. Even with out the deferral concerned, a one-year, $10.5MM deal for Sale as a free agent would’ve been an inexpensive or perhaps a slight cut price value for a pitcher together with his monitor document. It may maybe be argued that the Braves might need been higher off discovering such a pitcher on the free agent market fairly than commerce away a promising younger participant like Grissom, however additionally it is truthful to notice that such a rotation improve won’t have existed at a $10.5MM price ticket. Or, dealing for a pitcher like Stop, Corbin Burnes, Shane Bieber, or different still-available commerce candidates would possibly’ve value Atlanta lot greater than solely Grissom.
Sale’s $20MM membership possibility for 2025 shouldn’t be discounted both, because the Braves would possibly contemplate exercising that possibility if Sale pitched effectively. The $20MM determine matches what Morton is incomes this season, and since Morton has flirted with retirement over the previous few years, Sale may probably step in as Atlanta’s veteran rotation arm if Morton does dangle up his cleats subsequent winter. Sale’s $20MM membership possibility is definitely a vesting possibility that turns into assured if he finishes the yr wholesome, and completed within the high 10 in NL Cy Younger Award voting.
Anthopoulos and group chairman Terry McGuirk weren’t kidding final November after they stated that the Braves deliberate to maintain growing payroll. The Braves’ $203MM Opening Day payroll from 2023 was already a membership document, and Roster Useful resource now initiatives a payroll simply shy of $241MM for the 2024 squad. After topping the luxurious tax barrier for the primary time in 2023, the Braves’ estimated $280MM tax quantity now soars over the third penalty tier of $277MM, so that they’ll face more and more hefty overages as second-time payors. Passing the third tier implies that Atlanta’s high choose within the 2024 draft will now drop 10 spots, and so they’ll face the usual tax penalties associated to certified free brokers and the worldwide bonus pool.
This doesn’t seem like a lot of a deterrent for an Atlanta membership that has been swimming in further revenues because the opening of Truist Park and its neighboring ballpark village mission referred to as The Battery. The Braves have used this cash to lock up a number of members of its roster on contract extensions, and this younger core has already delivered the 2021 World Sequence championships and 6 straight NL East crowns.
The outlook hasn’t been as rosy at Fenway Park, because the Crimson Sox have been very inconsistent since that 2018 title. On the heels of consecutive last-place finishes within the AL East, Craig Breslow changed Chaim Bloom because the group’s chief baseball officer, and Breslow now has his first true blockbuster commerce as a entrance workplace govt.
Beginning pitching has been a identified want for the Crimson Sox all winter, and Boston simply signed Lucas Giolito yesterday to assist tackle the rotation combine. Whereas shifting Sale diminishes from the variety of obtainable arms, the commerce does liberate some cash to assist make different strikes, and the Sox merely would possibly’ve needed a extra dependable beginning pitching possibility than the injury-plagued Sale. Plus, including six years of group management over a promising participant like Grissom is a pleasant return for the Sox at the price of $17MM.
Grissom instantly fills Boston’s want for second base assist. An Eleventh-round choose for Atlanta within the 2019 draft, Grissom has torn up minor league pitching throughout his 4 seasons within the Braves’ farm system and shortly obtained himself on the radar for a giant league call-up. Grissom hit .291/.353/.440 over 156 plate appearances in 2022, although adopted up with a extra modest .659 OPS in simply 80 PA final season. Given an opportunity on the on a regular basis shortstop job, Grissom fell behind Orlando Arcia on the depth chart, and finally spent most the season at Triple-A because the Braves needed him to play recurrently fairly than experience the bench.
Grissom has spent a lot of his minor league profession as a shortstop, but there was some query about his long-term viability on the place. Transferring to second base or third base was tough on a Braves group with Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley already in place, so Grissom had been getting some reps as an outfielder as a potential candidate to fill the membership’s left subject emptiness. Nevertheless, the acquisition of Jarred Kelenic from the Mariners additionally appeared to shut that door.
No such place blocks exist in Boston, because the Crimson Sox would possibly effectively simply set up Grissom as their Opening Day second baseman. He matches Breslow’s most well-liked add of a right-handed hitter, and Grissom’s glovework may or ought to work out effectively on the less-demanding second base place. Getting Grissom within the fold may now relegate Enmanuel Valdez, Pablo Reyes, or Rob Refsnyder to pure backup obligation or even perhaps as commerce chips, whereas Ceddanne Rafaela now seems to be even likelier for use as an outfielder (and Rafaela would possibly but be a commerce candidate himself).
Photograph courtesy of USA At present Sports activities Photos
