Chris Sale made the most of his rehab start on Sunday with Triple-A Gwinnett. The Atlanta Braves lefty had a strong outing, and he got to run it back with an old batterymate.
The rehab assignment gave him the long-awaited chance to have a reunion with Sandy León. The two were teammates on the Boston Red Sox from 2017 to 2019, winning the World Series in 2018.
While the minor leagues aren’t the ideal place for a reunion, Sall will take the opportunity when he can.
“That was awesome,” he said. “I was hoping it wasn’t going to be here. I was hoping I’d get one more chance with him up in the big leagues, and maybe that might still happen, but always loved going to Sandy.”
Sale appreciates how much León understands him as a pitcher and what he brings to the table overall.
“He might as well be inside my head. He’s always been great for me. Baseball needs guys like him.”
The two have been a battery for 68 of Sale’s career starts. In those starts, Sale has a 2.79 ERA and 0.92 WHIP and 668 strikeouts across 435 2/3 innings. Among catchers to have caught at least 20 games for Sale, he’s third in ERA, only behind Sean Murphy (2.10), his usual catcher with the Braves, and AJ Pierzynski (2.51), who caught for him back when they were with the Chicago White Sox.
Having the chance to reunite was so close yet so far the entire season. The two were on the Spring Training roster together in March. León was up as a non-roster invitee, and the two were even playing in the same games.
However, León was either a designated hitter when Sale was on the mound and didn’t come in as a defensive substiatute until after his start or he didn’t come into the game period until later.
Ideally, there was an opportunity when León was the Majors since the Braves were using Baldwin and Sean Murphy as a tandem in the lineup. Manager Brian Snitker could use one game, just to do it, where Sale got to pitch with him.
There was just one problem. Sale was on the 60-day injured list. It would have to wait. Once León was sent back down and Sale was set for his rehab, everything finally synced up for the two of them.
Based on what Sale said about the reunion, it probably brought some comfort to the experience. He got into some trouble, but at least he had a familiar face to help him get through and flip the switch to look like his old self.
