As ex-Red Sox lefty makes first All-Star game at 33, Chris Sale proud of ‘little brother’
· Yahoo Sports
PHILADELPHIA — As Chris Sale rode to Citizens Bank Park on the National League All-Star team’s bus Monday morning, he took a minute to make sure a longtime rotation mate was recognized for his first career All-Star nod.
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Sale, an All-Star in all three of his seasons with the Braves, was sitting with Atlanta catcher Drake Baldwin when Eduardo Rodríguez boarded the bus.
“When I was on the bus today, I was sitting next to Drake and I said, ‘There he is!’ and he asked who I was talking about,” Sale said. “I said, ‘That’s Eddie Rodríguez making his first All-Star Game.’ That guy was like my little brother for seven years. I’m proud of him and happy for him.”
When Sale was traded to the Red Sox before the 2017 season, he joined Rodríguez — then a third-year big leaguer at 24 years old in Boston’s rotation. Along with fellow veterans David Price and Rick Porcello, Sale served as a mentor for Rodríguez, who often needed guidance as he found his footing in his early years. Back then, Sale, Price and Porcello all raved about Rodríguez’s pitch mix and pushed him — sometimes with tough love — to find a way to get the most out of his raw talents. In 2019, the group’s last year together, Rodríguez put it all together and finished sixth in the American League Cy Young race after going 19-6 with a 3.81 ERA in 203 ⅓ innings over 34 starts.
“In 2019, he was having a really good season and I thought he was gonna make it then,” Sale said.
Rodríguez parlayed six solid seasons in Boston into a five-year, $77 million deal with the Tigers after the 2021 season, opted out two years later and landed a four-year, $80 million deal in December 2023. He struggled to a 5.02 ERA in his first two seasons in Arizona before putting together an out-of-nowhere renaissance campaign this season. In 19 starts, the 33-year-old has a 2.29 ERA in 114 innings.
“It’s about time,” Sale said. “He’s had a really good career. I was really happy for him.”
Sale, an All-Star for the 10th time, is one of three ex-Red Sox on the NL team along with Rodríguez and Philadelphia slugger Kyle Schwarber. His first All-Star appearance was back in 2012.
“There’s nothing like your first All-Star Game,” Sale said. “I think the first one’s always probably the most special. But I’ve always tried to find a way to enjoy each individual experience for what it is and appreciate that it might not happen again. You soak it all in, appreciate it and try to make memories from it.”
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