For the Atlanta Braves, 2025 has felt like a slow-motion car crash. It feels like the kind where you see the collision coming for months, but there’s just no stopping it. And maybe no single moment better captures the emotional gut punch of this season than the Chris Sale injury.
Because while this year’s disaster can’t be blamed entirely on injuries, the loss of Sale at exactly the wrong time was like knocking out the final pillar holding up a collapsing structure.
At one point this season, the Braves boasted the best starting rotation in baseball. Chris Sale was the headline act. The 35-year-old southpaw looked like the Cy Young-caliber ace of old. In his last 10 starts before hitting the injured list, Sale posted a jaw-dropping 1.23 ERA with 82 strikeouts in 66 innings. He was flat-out dominating.
He nearly threw a complete game shutout, something he hasn’t done since 2019, and was going deep into starts. And he was giving the Braves much-needed length in a season where the bullpen has been perpetually on red alert. He gave them breathing room, confidence, and command. And then he was gone.
Braves Cannot Replace Chris Sale
The Braves haven’t come close to replacing that presence. Prospect auditions, bullpen days, emergency starts — nothing has even remotely filled the hole. And that’s where the “what-ifs” start to creep in. No, Sale alone wouldn’t have dragged this team back into playoff contention. But he might’ve kept the ship from sinking quite so fast.
It’s the ripple effect that hurts. One less taxed bullpen day. One more winnable series. One fewer lineup left scrambling behind a rookie starter.
And then there’s the personal blow: Sale’s comeback arc was happening. He was named an All-Star, and while he wasn’t the clear Cy Young favorite, he was surging. That’s all gone now. His bid to return to elite status, to prove he wasn’t just back — but better — has been yanked out from under him. Again.
It’s hard not to feel for the guy. Sale’s had enough of his career stolen by injuries. This season was supposed to be a redemption story. Instead, it’s just another brutal chapter.
In the end, the Braves’ 2025 season will be remembered for a lot of things — poor roster construction, career-worst slumps, a total loss of identity. But Sale’s injury? That might be the one that stings the most. Not because it was the cause, but because it symbolized everything else falling apart.
