Red Sox Fans Should Panic After News Chris Sale Will See James Andrews Over Elbow Injury
By Sean Facey
If the news that Chris Sale was hitting the injured list with elbow problems wasn't enough to send Red Sox fans into a state of panic, then this definitely is.
Boston's prized ace is slated to visit Dr. James Andrews, a man best known for his work in ligament repair, specifically Tommy John surgery.
This sounds ominous. Sale is not being made available to the media and they’re getting a second opinion from Dr. Andrews.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) August 17, 2019
It's never a good sign when a pitcher dealing with an elbow injury head to Andrews for a second opinion. While it by no means is a death sentence, it doesn't bode well for Sale and the Red Sox.
Matters aren't made any better by the fact that according to Dave Dombrowski, this injury is a new issue for Sale.
This is a new issue, Dombrowski said. Sale felt stiff on Wednesday and told the team on Friday. MRI was today.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) August 17, 2019
It's just as concerning financially considering Dombrowski inked the 30-year-old southpaw to a five-year, $145 million extension that doesn't begin until next year at the start of this season.
The #RedSox owe Chris Sale $145 million. Starting NEXT year.
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) August 17, 2019
Imagine Sale's and Nathan Eovaldi's contracts wind up being chief reasons Boston doesn't pay Mookie Betts.
(Dustin Pedroia's contract doesn't help either, but that's another story entirely.)
2019 as a whole has been a year to forget for Sale. While he's continued to rack up strikeouts with frightening ease, he's also allowed an eye-popping 24 home runs in 25 starts. If he doesn't pitch again this year, his 4.40 ERA will go down as his highest single-season mark by more than a run.
For a team that's had so much go wrong already this year, this is the last thing the Red Sox needed. Fans had better hope that nothing comes of the visit, otherwise their ace may be on the shelf for a lot longer than expected.