The Braves and Pink Sox have agreed to a serious commerce, as left-hander Chris Sale will head to Atlanta in trade for infield prospect Vaughn Grissom, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reviews. The Sox can even embrace $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 stunning transfer ends Sale’s tumultuous run in Boston after seven years and 6 seasons, as Sale missed the entire 2020 marketing campaign. After buying Sale as a part of a blockbuster cope with the White Sox in December 2016, Sale pitched brilliantly in his first two seasons at Fenway, twice ending within the prime 4 in AL Cy Younger Award voting and enjoying a giant function in Boston’s World Collection title in 2018.
Since 2019 was the final 12 months of Sale’s earlier contract, the Pink Sox had been aggressive in locking up their ace, signing him to a five-year, $145MM extension protecting the 2020-24 seasons, with a $20MM membership choice for the 2025 marketing campaign. Sadly, this extension has confirmed to be a giant misfire, as Sale began to run into damage 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 subject was solely the harbinger for the Tommy John surgical procedure that price Sale his complete 2020 season and most of his 2021 marketing campaign.
The unhealthy damage luck continued over the past two seasons, as Sale was sidelined by a big 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 whole 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 had been all nicely above the league common. Whereas the southpaw might by no means get again to his previous elite type, Sale’s 2023 efficiency a minimum of 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 staff’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 prime prospect Hurston Waldrep) and swingman Reynaldo Lopez can present additional depth ought to Sale or anybody else within the rotation want time on the injured listing.
In typical Anthopoulos style, this specific commerce got here out of nowhere, even when the Braves had been identified to be on the lookout for some pitching assist. Atlanta made a robust bid for Aaron Nola earlier than he re-signed with the Phillies, and such free agent and commerce targets as Tyler Glasnow, Dylan Cease, Sonny Gray, and Seth Lugo had been additionally linked to the Braves on the rumor mill.
As a result of Sale’s extension the Pink Sox contained $10MM of deferred cash per season, he’ll price 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 worth for a pitcher together with his monitor document. It might maybe be argued that the Braves may need been higher off discovering such a pitcher on the free agent market quite than commerce away a promising younger participant like Grissom, however it’s also truthful to notice that such a rotation improve may not 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 price Atlanta lot greater than solely Grissom.
Sale’s $20MM membership choice for 2025 shouldn’t be discounted both, because the Braves would possibly contemplate exercising that choice if Sale pitched nicely. The $20MM determine matches what Morton is incomes this season, and since Morton has flirted with retirement over the previous couple of years, Sale might doubtlessly step in as Atlanta’s veteran rotation arm if Morton does hold up his cleats subsequent winter. Sale’s $20MM membership choice is definitely a vesting choice that turns into assured if he finishes the 12 months wholesome, and completed within the prime 10 in NL Cy Younger Award voting.
Anthopoulos and staff chairman Terry McGuirk weren’t kidding final November when they said that the Braves deliberate to maintain growing payroll. The Braves’ $203MM Opening Day payroll from 2023 was already a membership document, and Roster Resource now tasks a payroll simply shy of $241MM for the 2024 squad. After topping the posh tax barrier for the primary time in 2023, the Braves’ estimated $280MM tax quantity now soars over the third penalty tier of $277MM, in order that they’ll face more and more hefty overages as second-time payors. Passing the third tier signifies that Atlanta’s prime choose within the 2024 draft will now drop 10 spots, they usually’ll face the standard 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 additional revenues for the reason that opening of Truist Park and its neighboring ballpark village mission generally known 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 Collection championships and 6 straight NL East crowns.
The outlook hasn’t been as rosy at Fenway Park, because the Pink 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 staff’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 Pink Sox all winter, and Boston simply signed Lucas Giolito yesterday to assist deal with the rotation combine. Whereas transferring Sale diminishes from the variety of obtainable arms, the commerce does unencumber some cash to assist make different strikes, and the Sox merely would possibly’ve wished a extra dependable beginning pitching choice than the injury-plagued Sale. Plus, including six years of staff 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 rapidly acquired 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 for the reason that Braves wished him to play usually quite 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. Shifting to second base or third base was troublesome on a Braves staff with Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley already in place, so Grissom had been getting some reps as an outfielder as a doable candidate to fill the membership’s left subject emptiness. Nonetheless, the acquisition of Jarred Kelenic from the Mariners additionally appeared to shut that door.
No such place blocks exist in Boston, because the Pink Sox would possibly nicely simply set up Grissom as their Opening Day second baseman. He suits Breslow’s preferred add of a right-handed hitter, and Grissom’s glovework might or ought to work out nicely on the less-demanding second base place. Getting Grissom within the fold might now relegate Enmanuel Valdez, Pablo Reyes, or Rob Refsnyder to pure backup obligation or even perhaps as commerce chips, whereas Ceddanne Rafaela now seems even likelier for use as an outfielder (and Rafaela would possibly but be a trade candidate himself).
Photograph courtesy of USA At present Sports activities Photographs
