Brian Snitker gives Braves fans unwelcome news on Chris Sale

While rosters for the NLWCS between the No. 4 San Diego Padres and the No. 5 Atlanta Braves will not be finalized until 1:00 p.m. ET/10:00 a.m. PT, there is a growing concern that NL Triple Crown winner Chris Sale may miss out on the best-of-three postseason series entirely. Sale was scratched from Game 2 of the Braves' doubleheader on Monday with the New York Mets due to back spasms.

The thought all along was for Sale to pitch in an elimination game for the Braves in their whoopsie daisy postseason run. Well, when it came time to shove, he wasn't ready to go. Grant Holmes came in out of the bullpen and delivered four scoreless innings in the Braves' 3-0 shutout of the Mets on Tuesday. Now with a huge decision ahead of manager Brian Snitker, it is not sounding very good.

Sale, who has been healthy all year for the most part, seems to be dealing with a nagging injury that plagued him for much of his tenure with the Boston Red Sox. Though he was probably going to secure the NL Triple Crown on Monday anyway, as his ERA was not expected to plummet, this is still not ideal for Atlanta. There were some rumors that his velocity was down in his most recent start.

Braves reporter Grant McAuley of 92.9 The Game reported if Sale is unable to go in this NL Wild Card Series that it could be either Ian Anderson, AJ Smith-Shawver or Hurston Waldrep taking his spot.

If I had to pick one of them, it would be Anderson, who has had postseason success in his career.

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Brian Snitker has difficult decision to make regarding Chris Sale's health

Hurricane Helene did so much damage in the southeast. While the Atlanta area did get some flooding, it is nothing to the degree we say in the states north of us, especially in the Asheville area of Western North Carolina. Although delaying the second and third game of the Mets home series was the right call, many legions of Braves Country in and outside of Georgia are struggling right now.

The doubleheader being played the day after the season ended puts Atlanta and New York behind the eight ball from a roster standpoint in their NLWCS with San Diego and Milwaukee, respectively. Thankfully, these teams only had to split to both qualify for the postseason. Atlanta did feel some pressure in Game 2 after New York took Game 1, but this could have been even more strenuous.

Overall, Atlanta's strength as a team all year long has been its starting rotation. Sale, Max Fried and Reynaldo Lopez were all NL All-Stars. Spencer Schwellenbach pitched a gem in the Game 1 defeat. Although Charlie Morton may have thrown his last pitch as a big leaguer, he gave it all when he didn't have much left. If it has to be a Gwinnett Striper coming up, please for the love of god be Anderson.

Having to potentially rely on an arm that has not pitched in the big leagues since 2022 is not great.