The Braves have named Chris Sale the starter for their Grapefruit League opener on Saturday against the Twins in Fort Myers, according to Mark Bowman.
What better way to kick off Spring Training? With Max Fried gone and Spencer Strider on the mend, this is Chris Sale’s rotation.
A little over a year ago, Alex Anthopoulos manufactured the best move of his tenure in Atlanta, acquiring Chris Sale from the Boston Red Sox for Vaughn Grissom.
Given Sale’s injury history, many weren’t high on the trade for the Braves, but it worked out better than anyone could’ve expected. Sale recorded a 2.38 ERA with 225 strikeouts to go along with an 18-3 record, becoming the first National League pitcher to win the triple crown since Clayton Kershaw did back in 2011.
It led to Sale’s first-ever Cy Young award and a seventh-place finish in the National League MVP race. To make it sweeter, the Braves didn’t even have to pay his salary, as the Red Sox sent over $17 million in the deal to net Vaughn Grissom.
Now, Sale will toe the rubber for the Braves in the first game of the 2025 campaign. Granted, it is an exhibition contest, but it’s baseball, and many in Braves Country will be tuning into the best pitcher on the planet at 1:05 pm.
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David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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