Chris Sale’s option has been picked up

I’m going to be honest with you. I’m not ready for the offseason. I’m not ready to put the 2018 season behind us and start thinking of 2019. We’re not going to go all-in on offseason and hot stove stuff around here, of course, but avoiding it altogether is unavoidable. Unfortunately for me, it would be me not doing my job. So, with that in mind, the Red Sox got some housekeeping out of the way on Tuesday. They shocked the world by picking up Chris Sale’s team option for the 2019 season.

One note here, Silverman’s $13.5 million figure is incorrect. That was the original figure, but it was upped $15 million due to his Cy Young finish in 2017.

It was obviously never a question of whether or not the Red Sox were going to bring Sale back for 2019. He is on one of the most team-friendly contracts in all of baseball, which is part of why they had to give up such a big haul of prospects to pry him from Chicago. Sale is worth, scientifically speaking, a buttload more than $15 million for one season.

So, yeah, there’s not much to say on this specific transaction, but this does give a small chance to talk about the next 12 months for Sale. He’s going to be one of the most fascinating figures of the offseason. For one thing, we still aren’t really sure what’s going on with his shoulder. I don’t want to speculate on injuries, but it’s at least something to keep an eye on as the winter moves on. Additionally, he is set to hit free agency after next season. Expect to hear a lot of extension chatter for the Red Sox ace, particularly after the New Year.