There has been a big media presence around the Atlanta Braves during this first week of Spring Training which means lot of player availability. Earlier today, Alex Anthopoulos met with the media, and you can read those highlights here.
Braves starting pitcher Chris Sale made the media rounds as well, discussion a number of topics, two of which were most notable.
First, Sale said he will never challenge a pitch with MLB’s ABS system. Saying that he doesn’t want to take away a challenge and has dealt with missed pitched all his career, Sale stated he would leave it up to his catcher if the backstop wants to challenge a pitch. The full video of his answer is embedded below.
Second, a maybe more notable, was Sale discussing his pending free agency, noting that he hasn’t been in the position before of having uncertainty as to where he will play next season.
When asked in a follow-up question if he’d like to retire as a Braves, he said that he would like to do so noting that Atlanta gave him a chance and helped get his career back on track.
You can watch his full comment in the embed below.
When on the mound, Sale has been arguably the best pitcher in the National League while with the Braves. Although he will pitch most of the 2026 season at age 37, Sale has compiled more than 10 fWAR across his two season with Atlanta, striking out more than 32-percent of the batters he has faced.
He won the 2024 National League Cy Young and if not for the freak broken rib suffered diving for a ball mid-season, he would have likely been at least a top five finisher for the 2025 award.
The Braves need Chris Sale to stay healthy and keep pitching like the future Hall of Famer that is likely is to contend this season. Whether the Braves offer him an extension prior to free agency or not will be an interesting item to watch as the year progresses.
Read the full article here