The Atlanta Braves will be without reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale for at least two weeks after the left-hander was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday with a fractured left rib cage.
In a corresponding move, the Braves recalled left-hander Austin Cox from Triple-A Gwinnett.
The move to put Sale on the IL, which is retroactive to Thursday, came three days after he made a diving play against the New York Mets in a 5-0 home victory. In the ninth inning, Sale dove to field a grounder by Juan Soto and threw him out at first. Sale then struck out Pete Alonso before being relieved after a Brandon Nimmo single.
“He was doing his exercises yesterday and felt like something wasn’t right, so they had him looked at and it showed what it showed,” Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters before Saturday’s road game against the Miami Marlins.
Snitker added that there was no set timetable for the eight-time All-Star’s return to the mound.
“With bones like that, they’ve got to heal before you can start the process, but I have no idea how long it will be,” Snitker said.
Sale, 36, is 5-4 with a 2.52 ERA in 15 starts this season, his second with the Braves.
Over 15 seasons with the Chicago White Sox (2010-16), Boston Red Sox (2017-2023) and Braves, the 2010 first-round pick (No. 13 overall) is 143-87 in 387 games (307 starts) with a 3.02 ERA along with 2,528 strikeouts and 481 walks in 2,047 2/3 innings.
Cox, 28, hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2023, when he went 0-1 with a 4.54 ERA in 24 games (three starts) for the Kansas City Royals.
–Field Level Media
