The Atlanta Braves are looking for any semblance of a silver lining in yet another lost season. It may have just arrived, as All-Star Chris Sale is on his way back from a fractured rib. The veteran southpaw took the next step in his rehab process on Thursday, throwing a live batting practice session at Truist Park.

This comes after a bullpen session on Monday. Sale, 36, went on the 60-day IL on June 21 (retroactive to June 19). That means he could, in theory, return before the month of August is out. Before the injury, Sale was a Cy Young frontrunner in the National League, hoping the capture the award for a second straight season. He put up a 2.52 ERA and 1.16 WHIP with 114 strikeouts in 89.1 innings.

The injury removes Sale from the awards conversation, but he’s still one of the very best aces in MLB when healthy. Given all the injuries Atlanta has dealt with on the pitching staff this season — Spencer Schwellenbach, AJ Smith-Shawver, Grant Holmes and Reynaldo López are all in the IL with Sale — Sale’s return would provide a meaningful boost.

And yet, it’s fair to wonder if the Braves should really rush the nine-time All-Star and World Series champ back. At 47-66, Atlanta’s postseason hopes are long dead. This team is just treading water until the regular season mercifully concludes.

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Braves are just risking further Chris Sale injury in lost season

Sale has a lot of miles on his arm. He also has more than his share of injuries on his ledger. The veteran has been remarkably healthy in Atlanta aside from a freak rib injury on a diving catch, but still. Is it really worth putting him back out there for a few more meaningless starts? It’s a question Braves fans will be pondering in the weeks ahead.

Braves manager Brian Snitker, for what it’s worth, seems committed to bringing Sale back, however. From David O’Brien of The Athletic:

“Snitker has said that when possible, he likes for pitchers coming back from long IL stints to go into the offseason having pitched in some games, in order to have a normal offseason instead of still being in rehab mode.”

The hope is that a few late-season starts will set up Sale for a more productive offseason, ideally mitigating the risk of pitching him in “meaningless” games.

Braves need to focus on getting Chris Sale fully healthy for 2026

Atlanta’s whole focus at this point should be on the 2026 campaign. Last winter, we said “surely the Braves can’t get so unlucky twice in a row.” Well, it will be the same mantra this offseason, as the Braves hope against hope for fewer catastrophic injuries and more consistent star performances in 2026. On paper, this team still has the look of a World Series contender.

It starts with Sale, who has been as close to an automatic win as a pitcher can get since arriving in Atlanta. He will turn 37 next season, and the list of pitches to supply All-Star production that late in their career is… minimal. But we’ve seen next to no signs of regression from Sale, who’s still topping out in the high 90s and missing a ton of bats.

Atlanta needs to nurse several key starters back to full health by next season, but Sale is the most important. Whether he benefits from a few more starts in 2025, only time will tell.