MLB Rumors: Teams ‘Convinced’ Former Red Sox Ace Won’t Be Traded

Time to pump the brakes on those Chris Sale trade rumors.

Last week, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported that if the struggling Atlanta Braves don’t get hot, Sale will “at least inspire calls.”

“Sale would bring a haul in a thin market, but his $18 million team-friendly 2026 club option makes them disinclined to trade him,” Heyman said.

But on Sunday, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale had a slightly different take.

“GMs who have spoken to Atlanta recently are convinced that Alex Anthopoulos has zero interest in giving up players for prospects at the trade deadline,” Nightengale reported.

The Braves (31-39) sit in third place in the National League East, 13 games behind the first-place New York Mets. Atlanta is eight games back in the NL Wild Card standings.

Sale is 4-4 with a 2.79 ERA in 14 starts this season. He’s second in the NL with 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings pitched.

The 36-year-old left-hander is the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner. He won the pitching Triple Crown last season, leading the league in wins (18), ERA (2.38) and strikeouts (225).

The Red Sox traded for Sale before the 2017 season, getting him from the Chicago White Sox in a five-player deal. The southpaw struck out a career-best 308 batters in his first season in Boston and finished second in American League Cy Young Award voting.

Sale’s signature moment with the Red Sox came the following year, when he struck out Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Manny Machado for the final out of the 2018 World Series.

During spring training in 2019, the Red Sox signed Sale to a five-year, $145 million contract extension. From there, it was all downhill as a series of injuries (including Tommy John surgery) conspired to keep Sale off the mound. From 2019 to 2023, Sale made just 56 starts.

Boston parted ways with Sale after the 2023 season, sending him to the Braves for infielder Vaughn Grissom.