I ask again. How was Chris Sale "injury prone" prior to this year?
Like, to the extent he was more injury prone than Eovaldi or Whitlock?
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But to answer your question, no.
The Chris Sale Made of Glass (SOSH TM) meme is complete mouth-breathing horseshit.
For those of you too lazy to look shit up, but not to lazy to opine, this is what the facts say:
Chris Sale, Boston career (no prior injuries of note.)
2017 - 32 starts, 5.9 WAR. Lead the league in IP.
2018 - 27 starts, 6.5 WAR. Shoulder issue where he was out for roughly a month and a half at the end of the year. There was no need to rush him since the club was playing, I don't know, kind of moderately acceptable ball at the time. Came back for some Sept. games and started and relieved in the post-season.
March 22, 2019 - Signs a 5 year contract extension for ages 31-36, avoiding free agency at the end of 2019.
Just like people are clamoring for right now re: Boegarts, Devers, the bat boy, etc. Staff at the time is E-Rod, a soon to be injured Eovaldi, a soon-to-be-mediocre Price, and Bi-Polar Porcello.
Will the shoulder hold up as the Sox medical staff hope it will? Yes.
2019 - Sale pitches into August (25 starts) with no shoulder trouble before missing a month and a half with an elbow issue that eventually proved to be a TJ, taking him out for rehab then the normal and expected TJ surgery time. (Sox are 17 games behind NYY at this point, and aprox. 8 games out of WC1 behind 3 teams, which is pretty much were they finish.)
2020 - Lost year. Good time to be rehabbing.
2021 - Returns in the normal course from TJ surgery. Makes 9 starts and goes 5-1 in Aug./Sept./Oct. 3 post-season starts.
2022 - Injured rib during (spring) training.
2022 - He had his throwing hand pinkie near snapped-off by a 100mph come-backer, which any manly-man would have just caught with his teeth.
Then there's Scar Tissue Eovaldi, who got his second TJ in 2016, got signed to a 4 year contract in 2019 (just like Sale), was out from April to July in 2019 (elbow!), and has thusfar missed 37 days this year (back).
There's Snaps-Like-A-Twig Whitlock who got TJ in 2019, has been on the IL twice this year (pectoral, hip) for 49 days, and was just given a 4 year extension.
This public service announcement, which has chewed up all my goof-off time today, has been brought to you by "No, I was not too fucking bitter or lazy to look it up Romine."