Atlanta Braves ace Chris Sale has been placed on the 15-day IL, retroactive to June 19, with what the team is calling a fractured left ribcage. While there's no official recovery timetable yet, a lengthy absence is expected, considering the importance of your core and how much strain the lanky lefty puts on his body with his unorthodox delivery.
Losing Sale for any amount time is a brutal development for the Braves, let alone for an extended period. Atlanta's hopes of salvaging a disappointing 2025 MLB campaign and making a postseason push take a considerable hit. They need someone to fill the void left by the reigning National League Cy Young winner, and it might have to be rookie Didier Fuentes.
Is Fuentes up for the challenge? We'll see, because Sale being sidelined thrusts him into Atlanta's rotation.
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Projected Braves rotation with Didier Fuentes replacing injured ace Chris Sale
Rank | Player |
|---|---|
1 | Spencer Strider, RHP |
2 | Spencer Schwellenbach, RHP |
3 | Grant Holmes, RHP |
4 | Bryce Elder, RHP |
5 | Didier Fuentes, RHP |
Everyone figures to get bumped up a spot, with Fuentes being the team's No. 5 arm now until he proves himself. The 20-year-old has the stuff to move up Atlanta's depleted starting five sans Sale (and Reynaldo López). One-time All-Star Spencer Strider will be the head of the snake.
Fuentes made his big league debut in the Braves’ 6-2 loss to the Miami Marlins on June 20. He allowed six hits and four earned runs while striking out three batters in five innings of work. But raw counting stats, members of Atlanta's clubhouse were complimentary of him, including manager Brian Snitker and catcher Sean Murphy.
"[Fuentes] was really good," Snitker stated (h/t Justin Morris of MLB.com). "He wasn’t overwhelmed by anything. I was very impressed by the secondary stuff. The makeup, how he handled everything. It didn’t seem like he was amped up or reserved at all. This is an impressive kid, and the stuff is real."
Murphy also spoke glowingly about Fuentes, saying Atlanta's No. 10 prospect was "awesome [and] phenomenal," according to Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta-Journal Constitution ($). The veteran backstop believes "everyone should be excited" about the hard-throwing Colombian.