The Red Sox announced this afternoon that they have picked helpers Tyler Danish to the big league squad. To make room on the 40-man roster, seven-time All-Star Chris Sale was placed on the 60-day injured list.
The 27-year-old Dane returns to the majors for the first time in four years. A former White Sox second-round pick, he played for the South Siders every season from 2016-2018. He was only 13 innings during that time and allowed seven runs with 11 strikeouts against 13 walks. Chicago ousted him from the 40-man roster in September 2018. The right-hander continued to spend time in the Mariners and Angels systems on minor league deals but failed to make it into the big leagues with either club.
Despite not seeing MLB stint in Orange County, Danish had a fine 2021 season in the Angels system. He worked 70 1/3 innings over 32 appearances and frequently threw multiple innings from the bullpen. Along the way, he posted a 3.84 ERA while defeating an impressive 26.8% of opponents against a tiny 5.1% walk percentage. That earned the Danes an invite to Big League spring practice with the Red Sox. He pitched six innings of one-run ball during exhibition play, obviously impressing the Sox knives.
To make room for Danish, Boston is officially ruling out its ace through at least early June. It’s a disappointing but not particularly surprising development. Sale was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his rib in mid-March, an injury that would keep him from pitching for weeks. The southpaw has yet to start throwing and it will take him a lot of time when picking up a ball for the first time before he’s ready for the big league.
It will take Sale weeks to build up arm strength via a throwing program, then he will surely have to embark on a minor league rehab assignment. Given that schedule, it makes sense that the Boston front office didn’t think he’d make it back for a couple of months. With Sale out, the Red Sox will likely open the season with a rotation of Nathan Eovaldi, Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houck, rich hill and Michael Wacha. Danish and Cutter Crawford – who was informed this morning that he would be on the opening day list (link via MLB.com’s Ian Browne) — are available as swing options.
{Related: Watch Transcript of Danish’s February Chat With MLBTR Readers}