MIAMI — The Atlanta Braves placed reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale on the 15-day injured list Saturday because of a fractured left rib cage.
“He was doing his exercises (Friday) and felt like something wasn’t right,” manager Brian Snitker said before the Braves’ game Saturday against the Miami Marlins. “So they had him looked at and it showed what it showed.”
In his previous start, against the New York Mets on Wednesday, Sale sprinted off the mound and made a diving stop of a grounder hit by Juan Soto and threw him out for the first out in the ninth. He then struck out Pete Alonso and was lifted after allowing a single to Brandon Nimmo.
“It’s just a freak thing. An unfortunate thing,” Snitker said. “I saw him after the game that night and he was doing his postgame workout. And then I saw him the next day and I think he maybe felt a little uncomfortable the next day. But then (Friday) is when he wanted to get it checked out.”
Sale is 5-4 and has a 2.52 ERA through 15 starts this season. The 36-year-old left-hander threw a season-high 116 pitches and 8 2/3 innings against the Mets.
“It’s a tough blow for us and him,” Snitker said. “It was going so good. That’s a rough one.”
After six seasons with the Boston Red Sox, Sale was traded to the Braves in December 2023. Sale won the pitching Triple Crown in his first season in Atlanta, finishing with an NL high in wins (18) and strikeouts (225) and a league-low ERA of 2.38.
Snitker doesn’t have a timeline when his star pitcher will return.
“With bones like that, they’ve got to heal before you can start the process, but I have no idea how long it will be,” he said.
The Braves began Saturday at 34-40 and 11 games behind NL East-leading Philadelphia. They had won six of seven, including a three-game series sweep against the Mets, before losing the series opener at Miami on Friday.
In the corresponding move retroactive to Thursday, the Braves recalled left-handed pitcher Austin Cox from Triple-A Gwinnett.