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The Atlanta Braves have suffered yet another injury to the rotation, this time involving the reigning National League Cy Young winner. The Braves on Saturday placed veteran lefty Chris Sale on the 15-day injured list with a fracture in his left rib cage. The move is retroactive to June 19, and the Braves recalled left-hander Austin Cox in a corresponding move.
Sale suffered the injury during his Wednesday start against the New York Mets while making this highlight play in the field:
It’s not yet known how long Sale will be sidelined, but the absence figures to be a significant one. The 36-year-old Sale endured a slow start to the 2025 season, but he’s been in peak form lately. On the year, he’s pitched to a 2.52 ERA (163 ERA+) across 15 starts and 89 ⅓ innings. He’s also backed it up with an FIP of 2.65, and he’s struck out more than 30% of opposing batters — an elite figure for a starting pitcher.
The Braves can hardly afford the loss of their rotation linchpin. Elsewhere in the rotation, AJ Smith-Shawver is out for the remainder of 2025 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and Reynaldo López is still recovering from April shoulder surgery. Co-ace Spencer Strider hasn’t quite looked like himself in his first season after undergoing an internal brace procedure, and he also missed an additional month with a hamstring injury.
The Braves entered Saturday’s slate with a record of 34-40 and in third place in the NL East. They trail the first-place Phillies by 11 games in the division, and they’re six games out of the final NL wild-card spot. Needless to say, losing a contributor like Sale figures to make matters even worse in Atlanta.
