2024 has been unimaginably horrific for the Braves in the injury department. So bad, I’m not even sure Atlanta’s biggest rivals could have created such a cruel script. Nearly every single position player has spent time on the IL, most of them missing a significant chunk of the season, including their two best players — Ronald Acuña Jr. and Austin Riley — lost for the year. The Braves also lost their Opening Day starter in Spencer Strider after two starts, with Max Fried and Reynaldo Lopez hitting the injured list as well in the second half of the season.
Despite all of that, the Braves somehow managed to win 89 games and sneak into the postseason on the final day, only for them to find out on the same day that the soon to be National League Cy Young award winner is dealing with back spasms and will be unavailable for the Wild Card round.
Chris Sale last appeared for the Braves on September 19th and showed some signs of fatigue. However, he said after the game it was no issue, and the club never hinted that he was dealing with an injury, stating they were saving him for a potential elimination game.
On Monday, the entire world found out that wasn’t the case. Sale was scratched less than an hour before he was supposed to take the mound with the Braves facing elimination in Game 2. Three hours later, after the Braves clinched a playoff berth, Brian Snitker then informed the media Sale wouldn’t be available for the first round of the postseason either.
How much the Braves knew about the severity of the pain Chris Sale was dealing with is unknown, but the entire situation has been handled in a puzzling fashion. There was seemingly no contingency plan in place for the possibility of Sale being unable to pitch, even though he had to be dealing with quite a bit of pain to sit out the most important games of the season.
Chris Sale has the reputation of being the ultimate competitor. The type of guy that would lay his body on the line to help the team win. So the fact that he is unable to go is telling of the severity of the injury, and Brian Snitker’s latest comments on the ace of the Braves staff suggest this is something that’s been bothering him for a long time.
Chris Sale felt good when he woke up this morning, Snit said. It’s the best he’s felt in a while, but he hasn’t thrown a side or faced hitters at higher intensity yet.
— Justin Toscano (@JustinCToscano) October 1, 2024
The entire situation is a peculiar one. However, it’s become overwhelmingly evident that this isn’t some small ordeal. Chris Sale hasn’t felt right for weeks, and for whatever reason, the Braves believed it was best to hide it from the public.
It’s obviously a promising sign that Sale is progressing in a positive manner, one that suggests he might be available for the next round if the Braves can find a way to advance. But his absence has put the Braves behind the eight ball, hoping to stave off elimination and force a winner-take-all Game 3 on Thursday.
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Photographer: David John Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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