The Atlanta Braves have made a huge move out of the blue to acquire seven-time All-Star Chris Sale from the Boston Red Sox.
Sale is headed to the Braves in exchange for infield prospect Vaughn Grissom, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. The Red Sox will also send cash considerations to Atlanta as part of the deal.
BREAKING: The Atlanta Braves are acquiring seven-time All-Star Chris Sale in a trade with the Boston Red Sox, sources tell ESPN. Well-regarded infield prospect Vaughn Grissom is the return to Boston, which will send money with Sale, who waived his no-trade clause to join Atlanta
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 30, 2023
Sale had a no-trade clause, but waived it to facilitate the trade to Atlanta. The 34-year-old is due to make $27.5 million in 2024, the final guaranteed season of his contract. It is not clear how much of that salary will be covered by the Red Sox.
The trade certainly comes as a surprise, as there was no real indication that Sale might be traded. For the Red Sox, they get out from under Sale’s significant salary while acquiring a potential MLB-level infielder in Grissom, who hit .330 in 102 games at Triple-A Gwinnett last season.
For the Braves, the motivations are obvious, albeit a bit risky. They are in need of more starting pitching, and Sale certainly has the potential to be among the best. However, injuries have been a major problem for him in recent seasons, and he has not made a full season’s worth of starts since 2017. He made 20 starts for Boston last season, his highest total since 2019, though his ERA was an underwhelming 4.30 and his strikeout numbers were down from where they were during the peak of his career.
If the Braves can keep Sale healthy and get him pitching anything close to his best, this will be a very beneficial deal for them. It is no guarantee, but they obviously believe they can pull it off.
