![]() Anthopoulos, in discussing the acquisition of Sale from the Red Sox, acknowledged to reporters, “There’s health history, and I understand that’s going to be a topic.” So why part with Grissom, a promising hitter about to turn 23, for a pitcher who last cleared 160 innings in 2017? Why invite risk when safer options were available earlier this offseason, and remain available in trade and in free agency? Morton, who has averaged 31 starts in three seasons with the Braves and produced an adjusted ERA better than league average, will be a high bar to clear. A stress fracture in his shoulder that cost him more than two months in 2023. A stress fracture in his rib cage in 2022. But his injury history, while not without freakish occurrences, also is daunting. Sale, who turns 35 on March 30, is almost 2 1/2 years younger than Morton was upon joining the Braves. And while he pitched much better in the postseason, he was still a gamble at 37. His regular-season ERA in nine starts was 4.74. He missed more than three weeks during the pandemic-shortened campaign with right shoulder inflammation. ![]() Morton was not coming off a particularly good season with the Rays when the Braves signed him to a one-year, $15 million free-agent contract in November 2020. Which starts to explains why they need Sale to be Morton 2.0. The Braves ended last season at $205 million, according to Fangraphs. But Anthopoulos, through his dizzying series of transactions, has not cut payroll. The Sale trade was a financial coup for the Braves, who will pay the left-hander just $500,000 of his $27.5 million salary next season, with the Red Sox contributing $17 million and the other $10 million deferred until, egads, 2039. But the Braves still have their incredible core of long-term assets, and a second straight upset loss to the Phillies in the postseason was not enough to persuade them to dramatically shift course. The Braves’ next biggest offseason move, a trade for outfielder Jarred Kelenic, also is a risk, and perhaps even more of one now that Grissom is gone. ![]() Sale for Vaughn Grissom is a risk not just for 2024, but also beyond.
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