Major League Baseball

Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale lands on 60-day injured list

Updated Apr. 4, 2022 8:44 p.m. ET

The Boston Red Sox will be without ace Chris Sale for at least the next two months.

Sale suffered a stress fracture in his right rib cage in mid-March and was placed on the 60-day injured list on Monday, the team announced.

The Red Sox were without Sale for all of 2020, and he only appeared in nine games in 2021.

The news is somewhat surprising, however, coming very shortly after Sale said that his MRI, which he underwent on Thursday, showed signs of healing and that he was trending upward.

The 33-year-old seven-time All-Star returned to the Red Sox in August last season and posted a 3.16 ERA while striking out 52 batters in 42 2/3 innings in nine starts.

The Red Sox are moving forward with Nathan Eovaldi — who will start on opening day — Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houck, Michael Wacha and Rich Hill in their pitching rotation, with reliever Tyler Danish being brought into the fold. Danish has a 4.85 career ERA in 11 games, but the 27-year-old has not pitched in the majors since 2018.

The Red Sox finished 92-70 (.568) last season, good for third in the American League East. They made it to the AL Championship Series, where they lost to the Houston Astros.