The Atlanta Braves struck gold last offseason when they acquired Chris Sale in a trade with the Boston Red Sox. Sale was coming off an injury-plagued tenure with Boston, making just 31 starts over the past four seasons. The expectations were modest entering his age-35 campaign but the left-hander had a renaissance, winning his first National League Cy Young Award.
The performance was so good, that Sale is in line to lead the Braves staff again in 2025. But that didn’t stop the Braves from making a big announcement as the team heads toward the end of Spring Training.
Braves Officially Name Chris Sale Opening Day Starter
The Braves announced that Sale will be their Opening Day starter when the team travels west to take on the San Diego Padres on Mar. 27. The announcement was a formality with Atlanta ace Spencer Strider’s recovery from Tommy John surgery but it’s still an honor for the southpaw to make his sixth Opening Day start and his first since drawing the honor with the Red Sox in 2019.
“Being out there for the first one is special,” Sale said via MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. “It’s like the first day of school. It’s like Christmas Day for baseball. Opening Day is always special and I’m appreciative of the moment.”
Sale’s assignment is sweeter considering what he’s gone through since his last Opening Day start. Multiple injuries limited Sale to 151 innings from 2020-23 and it caused Boston to trade him along with $16 million in exchange for Vaughn Grissom in Dec. 2023. But Sale responded by becoming the first National League Triple Crown winner in a 162-game season since Clayton Kershaw in 2011, leading the league in wins (18), ERA (2.38), and strikeouts (225).
The eight-time All-Star was also three strikeouts shy of tying Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal of the major league lead, which would have made him MLB’s first Triple Crown winner since Johan Santana in 2006.
With Sale leading the way, the Braves will begin the year with Reynaldo López, Spencer Schwellenbach, and Grant Holmes in the starting rotation.