Red Sox Announce Ace Chris Sale Will Undergo Tommy John Surgery

After several different sets of hemming and hawing that date all the way back to last August, Chris Sale has finally made the ultimate decision.

The Boston Red Sox announced on Thursday afternoon that Chris Sale will not wait any longer to correct his ongoing elbow issues -- he'll undergo Tommy John surgery in the days to come.

The #RedSox announced today that LHP Chris Sale will undergo ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery (Tommy John) on his left elbow.
— Red Sox (@RedSox) March 19, 2020

Sale received several opinions from medical professionals a few weeks ago, back when the 2020 MLB season seemed poised to continue as expected, and they "agreed" nebulously that his flexor strain did not need to be addressed surgically.

Most of us were in awe -- it took that many opinions to be absolutely certain Sale had...avoided disaster? Really? Now, it's become clear that Boston and their pricey lefty have nothing but time, and have taken advantage of the unforeseen delay in competition to take care of what's clearly been a lingering medical issue for months ever since Sale had an injection and avoided surgery in the summer of 2019.

Sale had been shut down for several weeks after that onslaught of examinations, but he resumed his throwing program on Monday before feeling pain again. He'll now miss whatever remains of the 2020 season, as well as a good portion (if not all) of 2021.

Chris Sale had just resumed his throwing program Monday after being shut down for two weeks when the pain resurfaced. He'll be out now until late 2021 or the start of the 2022 season for the #RedSox
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 19, 2020

Dave Dombrowski's final big-money deal as the franchise's chief decision-maker locked in Sale through 2024. The months of Sale's career that followed, spotted by decreased velocity and several stints out of action, surely helped bring about the end of his tenure.