Atlanta’s ace has no interest in going anywhere else.
Former Cy Young-winning left-hander Chris Sale and the Braves agreed on a one-year, $27 million contract extension that includes a club option for $30 million in 2028, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Tuesday morning.
The nine-time All-Star, 36, was set to hit free agency after the 2026 campaign but will stand pat in Atlanta for the foreseeable future.
Sale’s extension comes a few weeks after he said that he’d like to finish his career with the Braves, who took a chance on him following an injury-riddled 2023 season.
He returned the favor by immediately winning the National League Cy Young.
“I really like being here,” Sale said of Atlanta on Feb. 13. “These guys obviously gave me a shot and kind of picked me up off the ground after I exited 2023 kind of limping into the offseason. Everyone’s been great to me here, and I have really enjoyed being here.”
About an hour later, Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos expressed mutual interest in pursuing a reunion.
“I’m hoping Chris Sale is here as long as he wants to go and that would be our goal,” Anthopoulos said. “He’s one of my favorite players I’ve had as a GM. I’m grateful I’ve had a chance to be part of his career and be a part of a team that has had him. Those guys are so hard to find and the value beyond what they do on the field is just immense. So, the hope is that he plays as long as he wants to, and it’s going to be with the Braves.”
Sale and Anthopoulos will address the media Tuesday morning, according to MLB.com.
The 6-foot-6 southpaw with a filthy slider returns to Atlanta on the heels of another standout year that was cut short due to injury.
Before a rib fracture ended his season in late June, Sale was firmly planted in Cy Young conversations — pitching to a 2.58 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP across 21 trips to the mound (125.2 innings).
He boasted a towering 32.4% strikeout rate and ranked within MLB’s 100th percentile for Breaking Run Value, according to Baseball Savant.
Once seemingly a budding dynasty, Atlanta is coming off its first missed postseason since 2017 — a dominant run complete with a World Series championship in 2021.
2023 MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. reported to spring training feeling “200 percent” following consecutive injury-riddled seasons.
