Red Sox Links: Chis Sale, Thrower of Baseballs, Allowed To Throw Baseballs

Chris Sale, whose job and greatest skill is to throw a baseball, has once again been permitted to throw a baseball. For now, he can only do so from sixty feet every other day. But still! Let the Chris Sale Comeback Tour, Part. . . 4(??) begin! (Varun Shankar, Boston Globe)

Sale is eligible to come off the injured list on August 1. As fate would have it, that also happens to be the date of the 2023 trade deadline. Whether the Red Sox will be buyers or sellers on that day will likely be on the dominant storylines of the next month, but as of now, Sam Kennedy still says they’re looking to add. (Sean McAdam, MassLive)

The team faced the same question at last year’s trading deadline and, notably, did not deal JD Martinez, who ended up leaving in free agency to be replaced by Justin Turner. Yesterday, JD was named a starter to the National League All-Star team, along with his teammate Mookie Betts. (Lauren Campbell, MassLive)

Given the recent struggles of the team and the upcoming deadline, are Chaim Bloom and Alex Cora facing the most pressure of anyone in the Boston sports scene at the moment? It’s an interesting question, especially considering the offseasons of the Celtics and Bruins. (Nick Stevens, WEEI)