Latest Chris Sale update spells more bad times for Red Sox pitching

The Red Sox placed pitcher Chris Sale on the 60-day injury list as he deals with a shoulder blade problem, leaving him out until August at least.

The Red Sox are under .500, at the bottom of the AL East and in a slump having lost seven of their last 10 games. And they’re going to have to find a way out of it without Chris Sale to help them.

Two weeks ago, we were writing things like “Red Sox finally have the real Chris Sale back (and it’s magical).” The magic was short-lived as a week later he had to come off the mound against the Reds with shoulder inflamation.

A trip to the 15-day injured list pending MRI results has now resulted in a stint on the 60-day IL.

Chris Sale injury update: Pitcher has stress reaction in scapula

The team announced the extended IL move while revealing that the MRI indicated “a stress reaction” in Sale’s scapula bone. That’s his shoulder blade.

Per Gabrielle Starr of The Boston Herald, Sale doesn’t need surgery but he will need three to four weeks of “rest and rehab” before being reevaluated.

Jacob deGrom dealt with a similar issue last year which popped up during spring training. He missed four months of the season for the Mets, making his debut at the start of August. On the same timetable, Sale would miss most of the rest of the season.

It would take a minor miracle to expect the Red Sox to be preparing for the playoffs at the end of September. So there’s a very real possibility Boston fans have seen the last of Sale this year.

The Sale news comes on the back of a terrible outing against the Guardians on the pitching front. Boston started Matt Dermody, who was DFA’d after a subpar performances, and replaced him with an even worse Corey Kluber. Chaim Bloom is taking a beating over the state of the Red Sox pitching staff and it’s tough to imagine a way it gets better.