Red Sox ace Chris Sale to have Tommy John surgery

BOSTON (AP) — Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale will have Tommy John surgery on his left elbow, an operation that would keep him out the entire 2020 baseball season if and when it resumes after the coronavirus pandemic.

The team made the announcement on Thursday, two weeks after saying that the 30-year-old left-hander had a flexor strain near the elbow. At the time, the Red Sox hoped Sale would avoid the operation that usually requires a full year to recover from.

Sale is 109-73 in 10 major league seasons is entering the second season of a six-year, $160 million contract. After helping the Red Sox win the 2018 World Series, he went 6-11 with a 4.40 ERA in 25 starts last year, his fewest wins and starts and highest ERA in a full season since 2012.

___

More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports