Red Sox ace Chris Sale underwent an MRI on Thursday to evaluate how he is recovering from the stress fracture in his right rib cage. On Friday, Sox manager Alex Cora revealed that Sale’s MRI showed “some healing” when speaking with reporters (including MLB.com’s Ian Browne) at Charlotte Sports Park.
While there has been “some healing,” Cora also noted that there is still no timetable for when Sale could start throwing again. Rather than establishing a timetable, the next step will be to see how Sale feels symptom-wise in the coming days. From there, the Red Sox can then determine when exactly the veteran left-hander can get back on the mound.
Sale, who turned 33 on Wednesday, has been sidelined since suffering the rib injury while throwing at his alma mater, Florida Gulf Coast University, on February 24.
When speaking with reporters at the Fenway South complex on Tuesday, Sale indicated that he was in better spirits and was hopeful that he could begin his throwing program at some point next week.
“I think they want to get me past a certain point numbers-wise with weeks because with bones, it’s probably scheduled out,” Sale said. “I think they want to get me to a certain number before I start doing that just to really give it some time.”
Regardless of when Sale starts throwing again, the southpaw will still need a considerable amount of time to build back up before he is deemed ready to pitch at the major-league level.
With that, it might not be until May or later when Sale takes the mound for the Red Sox again. There are still plenty of hurdles he needs to clear before that can happen.
(Picture of Chris Sale: Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
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