Mere minutes after announcing their highly-anticipated foray into owning their own TV/streaming network, the Atlanta Braves announced an extension of their ace, Chris Sale.
Sale was in his last year of his prior contract (also
an extension) with the Braves, set to make $22 million this season. Now, before he can hit free agency, the Braves will retain him for a modest salary bump to $27 million for the 2027 season, along with a club option worth $30 million for 2028. With the impending labor negotiations, 2028 feels like it’s decades decades away, but no matter when it arrives, the Braves will have the option of bringing back their ace for another year.
Sale is coming off a season that saw him make just 20 starts because of injury, something he’s been no stranger to throughout his career. But those 20 starts were something special as he continued his run of dominance — a 61 ERA-, 67 FIP-, and 73 xFIP-, good for 3.6 fWAR despite just 125 2/3 innings pitched. While Sale is an injury risk in his own right, he’ll be relied upon to anchor a rotation that’s had guys going down left and right. Since coming to the Braves in exchange for Vaughn Grissom ahead of the 2024 season, Sale has put up 10.0 fWAR in 303 1/3 innings with a collective 59 ERA-, 59 FIP-, and 69 xFIP-, while taking home the 2024 NL Cy Young Award.
Stay tuned for more news on what’s already been a day chock full of it, and it isn’t even 9 am on the East Coast yet.
