Red Sox ace Chris Sale ‘100%’ certain of return in 2021, willing to pitch out of bullpen

Chris Sale threw a 25-pitch bullpen on Tuesday at Fenway Park, another big step in his rehab from Tommy John surgery as the Red Sox ace continues to aim for a return at some point this season.

Sale threw a mix of fastballs, changeups and sliders in his bullpen, and manager Alex Cora noted that he continued to be in a great place mentally and looked even stronger physically than two years ago.

Asked after if he plans to return this season, Sale left no doubt.

“Oh, yeah, 100%,” Sale said, while knocking on wood. “I mean, unless something crazy happens, yeah, I’ll be there soon enough.”

An exact return date remains unclear. Sale, seemingly serious, told Cora he wanted to pitch the second game of next week’s series in Atlanta against the Braves, but that obviously won’t happen. Head trainer Brad Pearson and pitching coach Dave Bush told Cora that Tuesday’s bullpen was like a session in January, which would suggest that Sale is still months away from a return.

“I couldn’t tell you,” Sale said. “If it was up to me I’d be starting tomorrow.”

What is certain is that Sale is feeling really good in his rehab process. He’s gotten a boost of energy being back at Fenway this week, and Cora said that Sale is “excited he’s a baseball player again.” Physically and mentally, Sale doesn’t feel held back by his surgery anymore.

“I’ve been able to just let go of the fact that I have a huge scar on my arm and it was cut open 15 months ago,” Sale said. When I’m throwing, I feel normal. I feel like I did when I was a kid. I don’t have this thought in the back of my mind about the surgery I had on a given throw or anything like that. I was actually saying, the last two or three weeks, I feel like I’m starting to build up as a pitcher as opposed to on a back end of a rehab. …

“I don’t feel like I’m rehab throwing. I feel like I’m pitching throwing. That’s a good spot to be in. I’m appreciative of that.”

Though it’s at least a month or two away, Sale’s role when he ultimately returns will be something to watch. He joked that the starting rotation has pitched so well this season that he might not have a spot there when he’s back. He said he’d be willing to pitch out of the bullpen, at least at the beginning, if that’s what was needed.

“If they told me, ‘Hey, we need a guy in the bullpen and we’ll build you up there instead of doing like a rehab assignment,’ hell, I would be game for that,” Sale said. “The quicker I can get on this team, I would like that. But that is way above my pay grade and where I’m at right now. I’m focused on my next day and getting off the mound and whatever the next step is, take that, but I haven’t really talked about that a whole lot.”

No matter what role he’s in, though, he’s preparing to be the same pitcher that he was before the surgery.

“I expect to be myself, be the guy that I’ve always been,” Sale said. “I just started throwing breaking balls. The first couple weren’t pretty. My expectation level is still as high if not higher than it’s ever been. I was down in Florida, I was with (Ryan) Brasier, and I threw my first breaking ball. He goes, ‘You look like you’re confused or something. What did you expect that to look like?’ I was like, ‘I expected that to be nasty. I didn’t expect for the catcher to have to jump to catch it.’ I fully expect to be who I am and do what I do at the highest level.”

Odds & ends

Christian Vazquez was out of the lineup for a second consecutive game, as Cora rolled with Kevin Plawecki to catch Martin Perez in the series opener against the Astros. Vazquez is 7 for his last 35 at the plate and Cora was hoping an extra day off would do him good.

“I think Kevin did a good job with Martin and he’s putting good at-bats,” Cora said. “It was a tough weekend in New York behind the plate and he’ll benefit from two days. As you know, he’s been scuffling offensively, so like Enrique (Hernandez) last week, see the game from a different perspective. Hopefully it’s going to help him out.” …

J.D. Martinez was back in Tuesday’s lineup after missing three consecutive games with a sore wrist.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3pGi9Ev