FORT MYERS, Fla. - It wasn't a huge leap forward, but it was baby steps for Chris Sale. The Red Sox starter will have to settle for that, for now.
After receiving the MRI results back from the stress fracture in his rib, Sale explained that while it was a step in the right direction - showing the kind of healing they were looking for - there is still no idea as to when throwing will begin.
"I have never been through this so I have been been floating through outer space with this," he said Saturday morning. "From what I heard, they said, ‘It’s better. It’s healing. It’s showing signs of healing. The bruising is going down.’ Yeah, good spot.
"I feel good. Night and day. I can run. I can jump. I can twist. I can start doing some things. There is nothing going on with the muscle. It’s just the bone, which is a good thing. But you have to make sure the muscles don’t do something before the bone is ready to handle it. They attach. This pulls on this. And if this pulls too much it can be irritated or do something to it. Dotting the I’s, crossing the T’s, making sure we’re exactly where we need to be, not around where we need to be and do this thing the right way and go with it."
One thing Sale is confident of is that he will be able to hit the ground running somewhat when clearance is given to start throwing.
"I would assume (like spring training). I have had some time but I don’t think my starting point is going to be zero," Sale explained. "I put in a lot of work and I’ve been doing a lot of work over the last couple of weeks. I feel like it’s coming back pretty quick. It shouldn’t be too long."
The lefty laughed when asked if this return from injury was much more palatable than coming back from Tommy John surgery this time last season.
"Yeah, no doubt," he said with a smile. "I still feel like a piece of (expletive), but a slightly smaller piece of (expletive)."