Observers have said it was only a matter of time. The unorthodox throwing motion was going to get him. Scouts have long been considered him an
injury risk, with some mechanics experts pointing to the “inverted-W”
formed by his elbows in the middle of his delivery as an additional red
flag.
But it may not have been the motion, but the number of pitches that did Chris Sale in.
The White Sox placed their ace on the disabled list on
Monday with a flexor muscle strain in his left elbow. It is the first
time in the 25-year-old’s career that he has hit the DL and the first
time he has had any issues with his elbow. However, early in his career he was shortly demoted to the bullpen due to arm concerns by management. Sale was upset with the move, and later regained his starting position.
A flexor mass strain
is not a major injury. Sale will miss at least two starts. The season is still early but there fast start has had warning signs. The White Sox boast the major league’s
hottest offense in the early going, leading the majors with 5.45 runs
scored per game, but Sale had, unsurprisingly, been by far their best
pitcher, going 3-0 with a 2.30 ERA and his usual strong peripherals
through his first four starts. But the bullpen has been a mess, and season ending dive for a fly ball has cost right fielder Avisail Garcia his season.
It was because the bullpen had been so bad recently (Robin Ventura used four pitchers to get out of one inning), Sale took it upon himself to duel with Boston's Jon Lester. Sale threw a career high 127 pitches in the loss. It was after that outing that he had more soreness than normal. An MRI revealed no ligament damage, but the team shut him down anyway.
The White Sox are in need of another starting pitcher before the Sale injury. Felipe Paulino has been horrible. But the White Sox, who have depth in middle infield spots, will not trade away valuable position players this early in the season. The front office is hoping that pitching guru Don Cooper will get some quality magic out of Charlie Leesman and any other AAA call-up during Sale's injury time.
