Poll: Sale is officially one of the worst signings in Sox history

You never want to take pleasure in the misery of others. That's like Karma 101, and it's not what I'm doing here. But Chris Sale's litany of injuries are starting to be comical at this point.

It began with shoulder fatigue late in the 2019, which ended his '19 season in mid-August. Then came Tommy John surgery in 2020 which meant a year on the shelf. He made his way back to the mound late last season and made nine starts down the stretch, totaling 42.2 innings pitched. This season, a stress fracture in his ribs suffered back in February delayed his first appearance until July.

A comebacker shattered the pinkie finger on his throwing hand in the first inning of Sale's second start of the season which meant he'd be out until mid-September at a minimum. That was, until yesterday when he took a tumble while riding a bike and fractured his right wrist, resulting in season-ending surgery.

So yeah, there's not much for frustrated Sox fans to do at this point but let out a "what the hell?" kind of giggle.

It took until this final non-baseball-related injury for me to no longer be able to make a case against Chris Sale not being one of the worst signings in franchise history. I'm not talking about the original trade Dave Dombrowski made, sending Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech to Chicago for Sale. I'd make that deal 15 times out of 10. Sale was dominant his first two seasons in town, with a 300 strike out season and helping Boston win the 2018 World Series.

No, we're talking about the 5-year/$145-million contract which kicked in during the 2020 season. Sure, when he signed, the idea of an ace at less than $30mil/season was a no-brainer. The problem is, he's pitched a total 48.1 innings over the first three seasons of it, while collecting nearly $50mil ("only" received $7.4mil during pandemic season and $50mil of the deal is deferred until 2035-2039, when the Sox will be paying Sale $10-million a year between the ages of 46-through-50).

Boston has received absolutely no return on their investment, so like I said earlier, I don't really see how there's an opposing argument to be made.

Do you agree or disagree?