Braves Chris Sale has shot at MLB history, per MLB Writer

The Atlanta Braves pulled off a brilliant move before the 2024 Major League Baseball season kicked off.

The Braves needed some more pitching and went out and acquired Chris Sale from the Boston Red Sox for infielder Vaughn Grissom. Atlanta's trade clearly worked out better in its favor. The Braves got the 2024 National League Cy Young Award winner while Grissom had an injury-filled season and now is in the minors.

Sale led the league in wins (18), ERA (2.38), and strikeouts (225) last season and has been good once again this year. So far, he has a 3.62 ERA in 10 starts to go along with 72 strikeouts. It was a slow start to the season, but he has looked better lately. 

He's 36 years old now, but FOX Sports floated Sale as one of just a handful of guys who could reach the 3,000 strikeout threshold.

"Chris Sale is in his 15th season in the majors," FOX Sports said. "At age 36, he sits at 2,486 strikeouts; still a ways off, but given he won the NL Cy Young award in 2024 while striking out a league-leading 225 batters, it’s also not difficult to see him reaching 3,000 before his career ends. The problem for Sale is health: the reason he hasn’t already logged his 3,000th strikeout is because of how the non-2024 parts of this decade have gone for him. He missed all of 2020 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and all but nine starts in 2021 as he recovered from the procedure.

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"He had a stress fracture in his ribs and surgery on a fractured pinky that, combined, cost him all but two starts in 2022. Then, a stress fracture in his scapula in 2023 took 70 days of his season: all told, he managed 182 strikeouts over 151 innings, which is perfectly Chris Sale, but it took three seasons to put that together. If he can stay healthy, 3,000 shouldn’t be difficult to reach, even if the overall quality of his performance declines as he enters his late-30s. That’s a significant if, though, considering."

Only 19 pitchers in MLB history have reached 3,000 strikeouts and Clayton Kershaw will make that 20 soon. Right now, Sale is at 2,486 punch outs. He has a ways to go, but if he can stay healthy, history is within reach.

More MLB: Ronald Acuna Jr. recovery timeline: How Braves star came back from torn ACL injury