Former White Sox ace continues on Hall of Fame path after Braves extension

The White Sox trade of Chris Sale to the Red Sox in 2016 will forever be known to fans as the trade that changed the direction of the franchise. The White Sox spent years stuck in the middle and finally initiated a full-scale rebuild with the decision to trade their ace. Sale has maintained his status as a top pitcher in baseball since the trade, winning a World Series with the Red Sox and a Cy Young with the Braves. Approaching his late-30s, Sale has now landed an extension that will keep him on the path toward Cooperstown. 

The Atlanta Braves have announced a one-year extension for Sale that’ll pay him $27 million in 2027 and contains a club option at $30 million for 2028. Sale will turn 37 shortly after Opening Day, so there’s a very good chance this contract will take him through the end of his big league career. Barring injury, Sale has an excellent chance to finish his career with an ERA under 3.00 and over 3,000 strikeouts, giving him a strong argument for induction into baseball’s Hall of Fame. 

Chris Sale was a true ace during his White Sox tenure

Drafted 13th overall by the White Sox in 2010, Sale made his big league debut the same season, posting a 1.93 ERA in 21 relief appearances. He remained a reliever and build up innings in 2011 before making the transition to the rotation in 2012. Sale spent the next five seasons in the White Sox rotation and established himself as a true ace, never posting an ERA above 3.41 during that span. After the trade to Boston, Sale maintained his form, dominating the next three seasons before injuries derailed him from 2020-2022. 

Sale was dealt to the Braves before the 2023 season where he returned healthy, but didn’t quite return to his dominance from before the injury. Sale contemplated retirement, but chose to stay and is sure glad he did. He finished 2024 with an 18-3 record, 2.38 ERA, and 225 strikeouts across 177.2 innings en route to winning the National League Cy Young award. Sale was set to be a free agent following the 2026 season but will instead return to Atlanta for 2027, where he’ll try to earn his $30 million option for 2028. 

In my opinion, it’s not a matter of whether Sale will make the hall-of-fame, but which cap he’ll wear. He played for the White Sox longer than any other team, but his biggest accomplishments came with Boston and Atlanta. It’ll be an interesting decision that I’ll be paying attention to when the time comes. 

The White Sox have had a habit of developing excellent left-handed pitchers, but to this point, that’s included watching them go elsewhere. With Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith on the cusp of the big leagues, the organization has two excellent opportunities to continue what they do best, and the hope is things will be different this time around. 

Chris Sale was one of my favorite players during his tenure with the White Sox and I’ll always be rooting for him to succeed. And one day, I’ll be excited to watch him take the stage and claim the honor in Cooperstown.