Chris Sale Shut Down Remainder of Regular Season, Will Avoid Tommy John Surgery
Red Sox ace Chris Sale is avoiding Tommy John surgery, the team announced in a statement Monday.
"Sale was evaluated by Dr. James Andrews [Monday] morning in Pensacola, Florida. Dr. Andrews confirmed that Sale has inflammation in his left elbow and treated it with a platelet-rich plasma injection," Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said in the statement. "Dr. Andrews also recommended a period of shutdown from throwing. Sale will be re-evaluated in six weeks by Dr. Andrews."
The news was first reported by ESPN's Jeff Passan.
Sale, 30, was placed on the 10-day injured list with left elbow inflammation on Saturday. He was scheduled to spend the team's day off on Monday and sought a second opinion from renowned orthopedic surgeon Andrews.
This season, Sale is 6-11 with a 4.4 ERA and 218 strikeouts.
The Red Sox took a three-game sweep over the Orioles this weekend to make up ground in the American League wild-card chase. Boston is on a five-game winning streak and has won 7 of its last 10 games.
The Red Sox take on the Phillies in a two-game midweek series starting Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
