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Last year, the Atlanta Braves were hit hard with injuries, but previously injury-prone Chris Sale was not one who went down. In fact, after pitching sparsely over the last few seasons, he pitched a full season and won the Cy Young award.
This year, the Braves pitcher is hoping for much better injury luck for his teammates. If they have that, he believes they can be a title team and can shock the baseball world.
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On Foul Territory TV on Thursday, he acknowledged the health question marks but said:
"We're a dangerous team."
Sale was traded from the Boston Red Sox before last season because he'd been so injured and pretty much a nonfactor in the rotation for many seasons. The Braves took a chance on his health, and it paid off.
Now, he believes he can keep the same form in 2025 and that, if his teammates Spencer Strider, Ronald Acuna Jr., and others return healthy and stay healthy, they'll be able to make some noise in the vaunted National League.
Opening Day is scheduled for March 27 and only time will tell how the season plays put for Sale.
Chris Sale believes he can replicate 2024 success
Chris Sale seemingly turned back the clock in 2024, going back to a level of success he'd arguably never had but certainly not since the late 2010s. This year, he's confident he can run it back.
Sale said on Foul Territory:
"I feel confident about this year... It's tough to do until you do it, but when you do it, you can kind of keep doing it. '23 I was just over 100 innings, last year, I was like 170. Kind of climbing the ladder, I feel like I should at least be able to do what I did last year."
Sale may not be able to pitch 250 innings like some pitchers in their primes have done, but he's confident he won't regress backward in terms of workload in 2025. He added:
"Anything can happen throughout a year in sports and whatever, but I do feel confident to be able to at least with the workload standpoint, the numbers, they kind of do what they do. But from a workload standpoint, I do feel like I'm ready to be exactly where I was last year if not take a step forward."
The pitcher was the NL Triple Crown winner in 2024, leading in ERA, wins and strikeouts.
