It wasn't long ago that the Chicago White Sox pulled the plug on the Chris-Sale-in-the-starting-rotation experiment. Sale's numbers were fine - better than that, even - but he wound up dealing with some elbow soreness. The White Sox didn't want to jeopardize Sale's health by stretching him out.
Sale was sent in for a precautionary MRI. Good news, on that front:
So we're back. The White Sox are pulling the plug on pulling the plug on Sale as a starter. It turns out that Sale lobbied for a return to the rotation, and he lobbied convincingly. With a healthy elbow and promising numbers, Sale had a pretty strong case. It stands to reason that the White Sox will continue to keep a close eye on Sale as he's a valuable piece now and in the future, but Chris Sale is a starter now, again, and we'll just see where this goes. On the year he's got 30 strikeouts to go with nine walks and a 2.73 ERA.
Chris Sale was a reliever that the White Sox turned into a starter. Not long ago, the White Sox turned him back into a reliever. Not because he wasn't performing - more because he was experiencing a little elbow discomfort.
It was suggested by some that Sale would remain in the bullpen for at least the rest of the season. It was suggested by Sale that, actually, maybe not. So Sale's status with the Sox is just a little bit confusing. But before we can really talk about Sale's future, we have to talk about Sale's future. By which I mean the White Sox need to figure out what's going on in his elbow. Thus:
White Sox have scheduled an MRI on Chris Sales elbow according to Don Cooper, PItching Coach Sirius 209 and XM 89
It could be nothing, or it could be not nothing. The White Sox just want to rule out anything serious, but you can't know if there's anything serious until you check. How Sale emerges from this exam will in part determine what he does for the rest of the year.
