White Sox ace Sale out 3 weeks with fractured foot
Injuries always have been an issue for Chris Sale.
The White Sox' ace left-hander was on the disabled list last season from April 18 to May 21 with a flexor strain in his left arm.
In 2013, Sale dealt with soreness in his throwing shoulder, and he was briefly moved to the bullpen in 2012 after experiencing elbow soreness.
On Saturday, the White Sox announced Sale suffered an avulsion fracture on the lateral side of his right foot in an accident at his home the day before. It also was announced that Sale is expected to be sidelined for three weeks before he can resume baseball activities.
"Obviously, the concerns are that I've got a swollen foot and you are like, 'That really hurts,' " Sale told reporters Saturday. "But things happen and you can't really … it was really just a freak incident."
According to the White Sox, Sale fractured his foot Friday while unloading items off the back of his truck at his spring residence.
Sale had X-rays Saturday morning at Banner Estrella Hospital in Glendale, Arizona. The Sox said the 25-year-old pitcher will have further tests once the swelling in his foot subsides.
"It was an unfortunate accident at Chris' home (Friday) afternoon," general manager Rick Hahn told the media. "The prognosis is positive. We're going to be looking at a three-week period here where he's going to allow the fracture to heal and then resume baseball activity after he is fully recovered. We do not know about his status for Opening Day.
"We obviously want to see how the next three weeks go and see where his arm strength is as we continue to build him back up. Clearly, we will err on the side of caution as we have with Chris in the past."
Despite missing 6 starts with the flexor strain last season, Sale finished third in American League Cy Young voting with a 12-4 record and 2.17 ERA. He also had 208 strikeouts in 174 innings and a 0.97 WHIP.
"I guess it's as good as it can possibly be," Sale said. "It's early. Three weeks, worst case, maybe touch or two longer than that. But we are still here in spring. I don't see this trickling on into the regular season at all."
Sale was scheduled to start the April 6 season opener at Kansas City just more than five weeks away. If he can't go, newcomer Jeff Samardzija is likely to get the ball on Opening Day.
"We don't have the schedule set just yet," Hahn said. "We have to decide what to do at the start of the season as well as who is going to pick up those innings for Chris over the next three weeks.
"We have numerous candidates in camp ranging from (Carlos) Rodon to (Brad) Penny to Scott Carroll, (Frank) Montas, Chris Beck, and we'll figure out how to allocate the innings accordingly.
"Not to try to spin it as a positive, but we certainly have time now; we have flexibility with the rotation early in the season, so if it winds up drifting a little past Opening Day it's not the end of the world. Due to the off days early in the season we do not need a fifth starter, so to speak, potentially until that first Sunday, which I think is April 12.
"So that would potentially buy you another week before going to that spot. But we'll see. We're just speculating now in terms of the exact plan. The most important thing is that this should heal completely in three weeks and then we'll go from there."