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40 articles
ATL • Pitcher • #51
10 days ago
Sale gave up five hits, but most of them were weak, with the lone extra-base hit being a 67-mph double. He wound up striking out two and walking one in his second start of the spring.
ATL • Pitcher • #51
19 days ago
The contract includes a team option for $30 million in 2028. Sale was going to be a free agent after this season, so this extension now means the 36-year-old will remain in Atlanta for the next two years. Sale has been tremendous when he’s been on the mound for the entirety of his career. After throwing 177 2/3 innings in his first season in Atlanta, he was limited to just 125 2/3 last season due to injury. While he has all the talent to be a fantasy ace, he’s best relied on as an SP2 due to his potential innings concerns.
Source: Jeff Passan
ATL • Pitcher • #51
21 days ago
Sale averaged 95.1 mph with his fastball in his spring debut, a slight improvement over his 94.8-mph average from last year. He also threw a first-pitch strike to all eight batters he faced today.
ATL • Pitcher • #51
4 months ago
This isn’t much of a surprise. Sale was great when he was on the mound in 2025, posting a 2.58 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 32.4 percent strikeout rate in 125 2/3 innings. The issue is that he battled injuries again, and this is now the fourth season in his last five that Sale has failed to top 126 innings. He’ll be 37 years old next season, and while his performance has not dipped at all, fantasy managers and Braves fans should probably set expectations at around 130 innings for the left-hander.
Source: Jon Heyman
ATL • Pitcher • #51
6 months ago
Sale relieved the retiring Charlie Morton, and the left-hander dominated the Pittsburgh lineup sans a run-scoring single by Joey Bart in the sixth. The 36-year-old’s campaign was shortened by injury, but he was excellent when on the bump with a 2.58 ERA and 165/32 K/BB over 125 2/3 innings. There’s risk in Sale’s profile — especially when you consider he’ll be 37 in March — but that comes with a ton of potential reward.
ATL • Pitcher • #51
6 months ago
Morton will finish his career back where it started, in Atlanta, facing the team he spent seven of his 18 seasons with. All told, 281 of his 408 career starts have come with the Pirates (142) and Braves (139). This will probably be a rather brief outing for him, and Sale, who will be making his first relief appearance since 2012, should still be in line for a win if all goes as hoped.
Source: Mark Bowman
ATL • Pitcher • #51
6 months ago
Sale received a touchdown and a two-point conversion worth of run support from Atlanta’s offense by the fifth inning and was cruising along, despite coughing up early solo homers to Nasim Nuñez and Dylan Crews, before Andrés Chaparro delivered a bases-clearing three-run single with two outs in the frame that slashed the deficit to three runs at the time. He managed to wriggle out of the jam without any further damage, finishing with six strikeouts and two walks in the shortened outing. He’ll close out the season on Sunday with a home matchup against the offensively challenged Pirates.
ATL • Pitcher • #51
6 months ago
Sale struck out nine, just as he did in each of his first three starts back from the injured list. Dating back to April 3, he has an incredible 1.35 ERA and a 114/19 K/BB in 86 2/3 innings, though he possesses only a 4-3 record to show for it. Sale will again take on the Nationals next week, probably on Monday.
ATL • Pitcher • #51
6 months ago
Sale came out of the gate blazing hot here. Each of the first eight outs he recorded came via a strikeout. All of those punch-outs drove his pitch count up though and the Cubs mustered five hits over the next two innings to push three runs across and knock him out after five. Still, we love to see those strikeouts and Sale certainly looks back to full strength after missing nearly three months with a fractured rib. It’s almost a shock that he’s back at all considering the Braves being far outside the playoff picture, but he’s still a stud. Next up is a matchup with the Nationals.
ATL • Pitcher • #51
6 months ago
Sale gave up four hits, walked none and struck out nine. The 36-year-old left-hander has 18 strikeouts and a 1.42 ERA in two starts since returning from the injured list. Sale has been great when healthy this year with a 2.38 ERA. He’s lined up to face the Cubs at home next week.
ATL • Pitcher • #51
7 months ago
Sale’s velocity waned some as the game went along, but that’s not surprising after a couple of months off. He was at full strength early on and just about as sharp as he’s been at any point this season. This makes seven straight starts, dating back to May 16, in which he’s allowed no more than one run over at least six innings. He’ll face the Mariners next Friday.
ATL • Pitcher • #51
7 months ago
Sale returns to face the Phillies on Saturday in his first major-league start since June 18 when he suffered a fractured left rib attempting to make a diving play against the division-rival Mets. The 36-year-old fantasy ace was putting together a carbon copy to last year’s Cy Young campaign prior to the two-month absence with a sparkling 2.52 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 114/26 K/BB ratio across 89 1/3 innings (15 starts). There may be some creative workload decisions made by Atlanta over the final four weeks since they’re out of playoff contention, but Sale should make a significant impact for fantasy managers.
ATL • Pitcher • #51
7 months ago
The 36-year-old southpaw struck out five batters over 4 2/3 innings of one-run baseball in his latest minor league rehab start at Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday. He allowed four hits in that one and didn’t walk a batter while throwing 51 of his 77 pitches for strikes. Fantasy managers should confidently deploy Sale next week without hesitation.
Source: David O’Brien
ATL • Pitcher • #51
7 months ago
Sale will one final start in the minors to continue building up his pitch count and stamina after completing four frames on Sunday in his second rehab outing. There’s little incentive for Atlanta to rush him back since they’re no longer in playoff contention. The 36-year-old fantasy ace has been out since late June with a fracture in his left rib cage.
Source: Mark Bowman
ATL • Pitcher • #51
7 months ago
Sale will get another start in the minors to continue building up his pitch count and stamina after completing four frames on Sunday in his second rehab outing. There’s little incentive for Atlanta to rush him back since they’re no longer in playoff contention. The 36-year-old fantasy ace has been out since late June with a fracture in his left rib cage.
Source: Mark Bowman
ATL • Pitcher • #51
7 months ago
Sale, returning from a fractured rib, got up to 56 pitches in his second rehab start. His fastball velocity was down by about one mph from his season norm, but that seems fine. A typical pitcher in Sale’s situation would probably get one more rehab start before coming off the IL, but the Braves might bring him back now; it’s probably mostly up to him.
ATL • Pitcher • #51
7 months ago
Sale, returning from a rib cage fracture, pitched two scoreless innings for Gwinnett on Sunday. He’s probably due for two more starts before returning, but the Braves could bring him back early if that’s what he’d prefer.
Source: Dave O’Brien
ATL • Pitcher • #51
7 months ago
The 36-year-old southpaw struck out two batters on the evening and threw 23 of his 40 pitches for strikes. Braves’ manager Brian Snitker indicated that Sale would need to get up to around 75-80 pitches before he’s ready to return from the injured list, so expect that he’ll make at least one, probably two more starts in the minor leagues before he returns.
Source: David O’Brien
ATL • Pitcher • #51
7 months ago
The 36-year-old southpaw has been shelved since June 19 due to a fractured left ribcage. The Braves are cautiously optimistic that Sale may only need one or two minor league tune-ups before he’s ready to rejoin the club’s starting rotation. It sounds like fantasy managers are going to get him back much sooner than originally anticipated.
Source: David O’Brien
ATL • Pitcher • #51
7 months ago
The 36-year-old left-hander explained to reporters that after experiencing soreness for the first couple of weeks that he was on the injured list, he felt significant improvement during the third week and started playing catch shortly afterwards. All has been smooth sailing since then and he’s now probably just one minor league rehab start away from a surprise return to the Braves’ rotation.
Source: Grant McAuley
ATL • Pitcher • #51
7 months ago
Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters Sale doesn’t have a set plan beyond this week’s throwing session but added that he’ll probably need to make at least one minor league rehab start before returning to Atlanta’s injury-ravaged rotation. The 36-year-old fantasy ace has been out since late June with a fracture in his left rib cage.
Source: David O’Brien
ATL • Pitcher • #51
7 months ago
O’Brien adds that Sale completed a bullpen session recently and is scheduled to face hitters in a live batting practice session in the near future. The 36-year-old fantasy ace has been out since late June with a fracture in his left rib cage. He’ll require a handful of rehab starts to build up his pitch count and stamina, but it’s theoretically possible he could make it back at some point in September.
Source: David O’Brien
ATL • Pitcher • #51
8 months ago
This is just a small step, but a nice one for the veteran, who was placed on the IL on June 21 with a fractured ribcage. At the time of the injury, Sale said that he expected to pitch at some point in August, so beginning to throw, even lightly, now is a good sign. He’s not eligible to be activated off the 60-day IL until August 19, so there is plenty of time to see how he feels as he ramps up and whether or not the Braves can remain in the playoff hunt.
Source: Mark Bowman
ATL • Pitcher • #51
8 months ago
Murray reports that Atlanta is not interested in moving Sale nor any other player that is signed past the 2025 season. The team believes that they are still in a window of contention, and they aren’t interested in closing that window with moves of players like Sale, Ronald Acuna Jr. or Austin Riley. Things can change between now and the deadline, of course, but count on Sale being at the top of the rotation for Atlanta to begin 2026.
Source: FanSided
ATL • Pitcher • #51
9 months ago
The procedural move takes Sale out of Atlanta’s rotation plans until at least the second half of August. The 36-year-old southpaw was in the midst of another Cy Young Award-caliber season before suffering a fractured left rib cage during a June 18 masterpiece against the Mets when he made a diving play to rob Juan Soto of an infield hit. The widely-held expectation is that he’ll pitch again this season, but there won’t be a definitive return timeline until his rib fracture heals to the point that he can resume throwing again.
ATL • Pitcher • #51
9 months ago
Atlanta won’t have an official timetable for Sale’s return until they see how quickly his fractured left rib cage heals, which is presumably when he would be cleared to resume throwing again. The 36-year-old fantasy ace hit the injured list over the weekend and facing an extended absence, even in a best-case scenario, since it’ll likely be several weeks before his ribs heal to the point he’s able to resume throwing. It’ll be intriguing rookie Didier Fuentes who gets the first shot to replace him in Atlanta’s rotation.
Source: David O’Brien
ATL • Pitcher • #51
9 months ago
It’s a devastating hit to Atlanta’s rotation and fantasy managers alike as Sale suffered the injury while making a sensational diving stop to rob Juan Soto of a potential infield hit during the ninth inning of Wednesday’s masterpiece against the division-rival Mets. The 36-year-old veteran southpaw was in the midst of another Cy Young Award-caliber campaign with a pristine 2.52 ERA across 15 starts. No word yet on how much time he’ll wind up missing, but fantasy managers should anticipate a lengthy absence since he’ll be shut down from throwing until his ribs heal completely.
ATL • Pitcher • #51
9 months ago
Sale clearly had plenty in the tank pitching on eight days’ rest and made the Mets feel his wrath. They hit dribbler after dribbler and didn’t put a single runner into scoring position after the first inning. Sale had no fear attacking them with fastballs in the zone which set up dozens of devastating sliders darting low. It was pure domination. The only reason he wasn’t able to finish the complete game shutout is because Brandon Nimmo hit a flare over Austin Riley’s head with two outs in the ninth inning and manager Brian Snitker didn’t want to push Sale when he’d already amassed a season-high 116 pitches. He hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in a single start since April 13th and has reclaimed his throne as one of the league’s best. If the Braves keep him on regular rest, he’s lined up for a two-start week against the Mets, again, and Phillies.
ATL • Pitcher • #51
9 months ago
Instead, Sale will start against the Mets with that series beginning Tuesday and going through Thursday. The 36-year-old will get some extra rest, and also won’t be wasted against the worst team in baseball. Grant Holmes will start Sunday’s game instead.
Source: David O’Brien