Red Sox’ Chris Sale to begin season on injured list as he recovers from pneumonia
Sale will stay in Fort Myers for extended spring training once the season starts.
Chris Sale will start the season on the injured list, manager Ron Roenicke said Thursday morning.
Sale came to camp battling pneumonia and is about two weeks behind schedule. He’ll stay in Fort Myers at extended spring training once the season starts.
“It was probably a reach anyway,’’ Roenicke said regarding Sale making his Opening Day start. “He’s worked hard on getting his arm right. We didn’t think four starts in spring training was fair to him.’’
Sale went to the IL with elbow inflammation in mid-August and missed the rest of the season. Roenicke said this IL stint has nothing to do with the elbow injury.
“Nothing at all [related] to the arm,’’ Roenicke said. “He’s doing really good. We’re really happy with where he’s at. This is strictly from missing two weeks.’’
It’s now the 15-day IL for pitchers, not 10, which means Sale will likely miss at least two starts. The team considered using an opener in the No. 5 spot in the rotation. Now they must figure out what to do with Sale down. Could they possibly use an opener in two rotation spots?
“We could do it with two spots in the rotation,’’ Roenicke said. “But we’ll see if someone emerges and covers one of those for us.’’
Sale is scheduled to throw live batting practice on Saturday.
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