Red Sox 2022 MLB futures odds: Ace Chris Sale out weeks with stress fracture in rib cage

The Boston Red Sox rotation was a question mark entering the 2022 regular season as it was, and now ace left-hander and perennial Cy Young candidate Chris Sale will miss several weeks after suffering a stress fracture in his rib cage. Boston has an Over/Under win total of 85.5 for this season at Caesars Sportsbook and Sale is +1400 to win the AL Cy Young. The Sox open April 7 at the Yankees.

Red Sox general manager Chaim Bloom announced the injury Wednesday, saying it will be "weeks, not days" before Sale can resume throwing. The injury actually happened four weeks ago, but remember that players and teams had no contact during the lockout. Sale said he let Red Sox know about the injury on the day the lockout ended. It seems likely he will miss at least all of April.

It's pretty clear that Sale's best days are behind him at age 32 because he can't stay healthy. The seven-time All-Star finished between second and sixth in AL Cy Young voting every season from 2012-18. 

He was limited to 27 starts in 2018 when the Red Sox won the World Series but was still very good with a 2.11 regular-season ERA. The next year, that ERA ballooned to 4.40 in 25 starts and he suffered an injury that caused Sale to miss the entire 2020 season due to Tommy John surgery.

Last year, he returned for nine late-season starts and was 5-1 with a 3.16 ERA but largely a non-factor in the postseason with a 0-1 record and 8.00 ERA in three starts as Boston reached the ALCS. Rather scarily for the Sox, Sale has four years left (including this one) on a five-year, $145 million extension.

Either Sale or Nathan Eovaldi would have been the Opening Day starter. The rotation behind those two is expected Nick Pivetta, Rich Hill, Michael Wacha and Tanner Houck (many teams will use a six-man rotation going forward). The team did sign James Paxton, but he is still recovering from Tommy John surgery and won't be available until at least midseason.

Overall, the Sox have been quiet in free agency this offseason, although they have been linked on the periphery with Freddie Freeman and Carlos Correa. Clearly, oddsmakers expect regression from last season's 92-70 team with that win total of 85.5. To make and miss the playoffs, the Sox are -110 – remember, there's an additional wild-card team with the new CBA. 

Had their been a third wild-card team in 2021, it would have been the Blue Jays and they had 91 victories. Toronto got a lot better on Wednesday by trading for A's All-Star third baseman Matt Chapman. 

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