Chris Sale scratched, sent home by @WhiteSox due to non-physical clubhouse incident: https://t.co/gxSjLdkYwv pic.twitter.com/WVD52cBWGB
— MLB (@MLB) July 23, 2016
Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale was scratched from tonight’s start against the Detroit Tigers as trade rumors remain afloat.
Chris Sale is one of the most coveted arms in all of baseball. A hard-throwing lefty slinger who has emerged into a prominent stud, teams in search of a true number one have been honing in on Chicago’s ace.
With the White Sox falling out of the playoff race, the 27-year-old — who owns a 14-3 record on the year — was scratched from his start at U.S. Cellular Field.
Why was he scratched? General Manager Rick Hahn had this to say:
Official: Chris Sale has been scratched from tonight’s scheduled start.
STATEMENT: pic.twitter.com/wOB8JTsjzu
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) July 23, 2016
One can only make assumptions until concrete details are put forth, but the organization does not seem to handle situations admirably. After all, they basically told Adam LaRoche and his son to get on their merry way.
Who knows what the incident could have entailed?
The possibility remains that the current state of the team combined with the potential departure of Sale has created tension, whether internally or up the ladder.
With teams such as the Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, and Pittsburgh Pirates in dire need of starting pitching in order to make respective postseason runs, speculation has come about as to whether he will be dealt.
An additional report from CBS Sports indicated that the asking price for the superstar may be five top prospects. Hey, you need to give something to get something.
In 133 innings (19 starts) thus far, the southpaw has pitched to a 3.18 ERA with only 29 walks and a brilliant 1.01 WHIP.
The recent sequence of events is certainly alarming, but the fun may just be getting started.
