Boston Red Sox and San Francisco Giants Deliver Bad News
Thursday it was announced that Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale will undergo Tommy John surgery. Later on, the San Francisco Giants announced that their own pitcher Tyler Beede will undergo the same surgery. The Sale news was first reported by the Boston Red Sox on Twitter.
The #RedSox announced today that LHP Chris Sale will undergo ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery (Tommy John) on his left elbow.
— Red Sox (@RedSox) March 19, 2020
First with news about Tyler Beede was Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle on Twitter.
Beede to have TJ surgery tomorrow. #SFGiants
— Henry Schulman BLUE CHECK MARK (@hankschulman) March 19, 2020
Chris Sale News
For the Boston Red Sox, an already bleak 2020 season just got darker. Chris Sale was going to be viewed as a primary part of their starting rotation. Granted, the current delay due to the Coronavirus helps matters, but Sale is still an integral part of the Red Sox roster. After trading David Price to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Mookie Betts trade, Sale was the only real impact starting pitcher left.
Earlier this month, Sale was diagnosed with a flexor strain in his throwing elbow. At that time, he was shut down for good. Reports at that time indicated that Sale would resume throwing, which he did yesterday. Following that session, the news about needing Tommy John surgery came out.
Last year with the Red Sox, Sale posted a 4.40 ERA over 25 starts and 147 1/3 innings. During that span, Sale had an ERA+ of 109, a 3.39 Fielding Independent Percentage (FIP), and a 7.5 hits-per-9 rate. The year prior Sale finished fourth in American League Cy Young Award voting. During the 2018 season, Sale posted a 2.11 ERA over 158 innings of work with a 13.5 K/9 rate.
Tyler Beede News
Mere hours later, Tyler Beede was the next starting pitcher to have to go undergo Tommy John surgery. Beede was viewed as a back-end starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants. For a Giants team that lacked in the pitching department, Beede provided some much needed assurance. Regardless, the Giants were likely to be in a rebuild this coming season, but the Beede news still hurts on an organizational level.
A little over two weeks ago, Beede was diagnosed with a UCL sprain and a flexor strain. At the time, it was reported that Beede would be seeking a second opinion. In many cases, when a second opinion happens, it’s usually never good news. In this case, that was exactly what happened with Beede.
Over 24 games in 2019 with the San Francisco Giants, Beede posted a 5.08 ERA over 117 innings of work. In addition, Beede made two relief appearances in that span and had a 5.03 FIP. It was Beede’s first full season at the big league level. In 2018, Beede made two starts and posted a 8.22 ERA over 7 2/3 innings of work with a 2.217 WHIP.
Outlook
Anytime a pitcher needs Tommy John surgery, it is never good news. For the Boston Red Sox, an already dark looking season just got darker in many regards. For the San Francisco Giants, the team lost a potential pillar on its pitching staff. Regardless, whenever an injury of this magnitude happens, other pitchers will need to step up to the plate. For both the Red Sox and the Giants, that will likely happen. It’s just a matter of when that time will come.
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