The Red Sox have transferred left-hander Chris Sale from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list, the club announced as part of a flurry of roster moves ahead of Friday’s series opener against the Yankees in New York.
Sale has been diagnosed with a stress reaction in his left scapula bone (shoulder blade), according to MassLive.com’s Sean McAdam. It will not require surgery, but the 34-year-old lefty will be shut down for the next three to four weeks before being reevaluated again.
This is a disappointing development for Sale, who injured his shoulder in his most-recent start against the Reds at Fenway Park last Thursday. He was removed from the game in the fourth inning after receiving two visits from manager Alex Cora and assistant athletic trainer Masai Takahashi.
The ailment was initially described as shoulder soreness, but Sale underwent further imaging last Friday and was subsequently placed on the 15-day injured list with left shoulder inflammation.
Because of the inflammation in his shoulder, the Red Sox needed to wait until the swelling went down before determine the best course of action. It now appears as though rest and rehab are all Sale will require for now, though Friday’s move to the 60-day injured list means he will not be eligible to return to action until August 1 at the earliest.
Sale has posted a 4.58 ERA and 3.71 FIP with 71 strikeouts to 15 walks in 11 starts (59 innings) for Boston this year. He struggled early on, but found his rhythm towards the end of April and went 4-0 with a 2.23 ERA in five starts (32 1/3 innings) leading up to last Thursday’s injury-shortened outing.
In addition to transferring Sale to the 60-day injured list on Friday, the Red Sox made four other roster moves:
Outfielder Adam Duvall was reinstated from the 60-day injured list while left-handed reliever had his contract selected from Triple-A Worcester. On the flip side, Matt Dermody — who started for Boston in Cleveland on Thursday — was designated for assignment while rookie infielder Enmanuel Valdez was optioned to Worcester.
Following Friday’s series of transactions, the Red Sox now have 13 pitchers and 13 position players on their 26-man roster. Their 40-man roster is back at full capacity as well.
(Picture of Chris Sale: Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
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