Red Sox: 3 next moves after signing Rafael Devers long term

Red Sox moves after locking up Rafael Devers, No. 2: Trade Chris Sale

Another rumor that has recently popped up is that the Red Sox could potentially be willing to listen to calls about trading star starting pitcher Chris Sale. The franchise has Sale locked up on a long-term contract and he’s been great when on the field. But his health and reliability have come into question and a team looking to roll the dice on a risky big talent and pay the right price to do so might be worth listening to.

There are certainly teams that would be willing to make that offer. But the most important factor in the equation is that Boston should be ready to listen and ultimately make the trade sooner rather than later as they try to not tear down the roster but, instead, retool and rebuild it.

Again, Sale has been impressive when on the mound over the past two seasons, posting a 3.17 ERA and an ERA+ of 148. But the simple truth is that those numbers don’t mean a thing for a player who has only made 11 starts over the past three seasons due to various injuries.

Not all of those ailments were anyone’s fault, most notably Sale taking a line drive off his hand/wrist and suffering a broken bone. However, it’s still worrisome to have a player who has been so injury prone as of late and is now on the wrong side of 30 years old.

Alongside Sale in the current projected 2023 Red Sox rotation is Nick Pivetta, James Paxton, Corey Kluber and then a host of young arms with immense upside. It would behoove Boston to get value for Sale on the trade market while it’s available and there’s interest in order to bring more talent into the system and get a better look at what could be the future of the pitching staff.