Is Chris Sale Doing Enough To Reach Cooperstown?

When it comes to the Hall of Fame, the Atlanta Braves are used to seeing their players on the ballot.

This year, star outfielder Andruw Jones will finally be inducted. Fred McGriff got his call in 2023, and a long list of Braves legends made their way to Cooperstown recently before them, including Chipper Jones, John Smoltz, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Bobby Cox, Joe Torre, and Bruce Sutter.

Not all of those names went in wearing a Braves cap, but each left a meaningful mark on the organization.

Chris Sale is now working his way into that conversation. At his peak, Sale was one of the most dominant pitchers of the 2010s and looked like a lock for Cooperstown. Injuries changed that trajectory, turning his career into more of a “what could have been” discussion for a stretch.

But since arriving in Atlanta prior to the 2024 season, Sale has flipped that narrative back. He looks refreshed, relatively healthy, and in many ways, like the same dominant arm from his prime.

That does not mean he would go into Cooperstown as a Brave. Sale spent seven seasons and made 148 starts with the Chicago White Sox and another seven years and 115 starts with the Boston Red Sox. He made five straight All-Star teams with Chicago and won a World Series in Boston.

Still, what he has done with Atlanta is increasingly earning him the right to be part of the Hall of Fame conversation.

Chris Sale in Atlanta

Despite entering his age-37 season, Sale has not just maintained his star performance, he may have found another level.

After his up-and-down tenure in Boston, the Red Sox decided to move on and shed salary. In a somewhat surprising offseason deal, they sent Sale to Atlanta in exchange for Vaughn Grissom. Grissom has since moved on to the Angels. Sale, on the other hand, has been more than the Braves could have hoped for.

In 2024, he captured the pitching triple crown, leading the National League with 18 wins, a 2.38 ERA, and 225 strikeouts. He topped off that incredible season by winning his first Cy Young Award. In 2025, he was on a similar track before suffering a left rib cage fracture while diving for a groundball off the bat of Juan Soto.

This season, he has picked up right where he left off. As of the completion of games played on May 7, Sale ranks first in MLB in wins (6), sixth in WHIP (0.90), eighth in strikeout rate (29.9%), eighth in hard hit rate (32.3%), and eighth in ERA (2.14).

Even more impressive, since the beginning of the 2024 season, his overall metrics really only put him behind Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes. Not too shabby.

Career Milestones

For most of his career, Sale had been viewed as elite on a per-start basis, but durability concerns held back his cumulative numbers. That is starting to change as he gets older.

Sale currently sits 49 wins shy of 200 for his career and 372 strikeouts away from 3000. Both are major benchmarks that often play a role in Hall of Fame discussions for starting pitchers.

After arriving in Atlanta, he signed a two-year, $38 million deal that carried him through the current season. This past offseason, Sale and the Braves agreed on a one-year, $27 million extension for the 2027 season that includes a $30 million club option for 2028.

This structure has become familiar in Atlanta. Veteran starters like Charlie Morton have worked on similar short-term, high-value deals. It benefits both sides. The team avoids long-term risk, while the player earns a higher annual salary without being locked into a lengthy commitment.

Barring another significant injury, Sale is in a strong position to reach 3000 strikeouts by the end of the 2027 season at the latest. He recorded 225 strikeouts in 2024 and 165 in 2025. Even with a conservative estimate, he is tracking toward roughly 140 strikeouts this season if he only makes 20 total starts, and likely more if he exceeds that workload.

Reaching 200 wins is less straightforward. He would need to average just over 12 wins per season for the next four years. That is doable, especially considering he already has six wins through his first seven starts this season, but wins are influenced by factors outside of a pitcher’s control.

Baseball Reference Metrics

Baseball Reference offers several tools that help frame Hall of Fame cases. Looking at a few of them provides useful context.

Hall of Fame Monitor: On this scale, the average Hall of Famer lands around a score of 100. Sale currently sits at 120, ranking 77th all-time among pitchers. That puts him just ahead of names like Goose Gossage, Vida Blue, and Billy Wagner, and within range of pitchers like Roy Halladay, Mike Mussina, and Rollie Fingers.

Grey Ink Test: The Grey Ink Test measures how often a player ranks in the top 10 in his league in key categories. An average Hall of Fame score is around 185. Sale comes in at 162, ranking 97th all-time, just behind pitchers like Lefty Gomez, CC Sabathia, and Al Spalding

JAWS: JAWS blends career value and peak performance. An average Hall of Fame starting pitcher has a mark of 61.4. Sale currently sits at 50.2, ranking 59th among starters. That places him near Early Wynn and Don Sutton, while he’s closing in on Jim Bunning, Bob Feller, Juan Marichal, and Don Drysdale.

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The Case for the Hall

It’s a fun debate, but if the question is whether Chris Sale would be a Hall of Famer if he retired today, the answer is probably no. His numbers and accolades stack up, but they still fall a bit short compared to the standard set by current inductees, thanks to injuries.

That said, the path is clearly in front of him. I believe Sale will ultimately deserve to be inducted when he finally hangs up the cleats.

Sale is under team control for at least two more full seasons, and depending on performance and health, he could pitch even longer. That timeline would put him in a similar late career window to fellow pitchers, and likely Hall of Famers, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.

He also already brings an impressive resume:

• 9x All-Star, with a chance to reach 10 this season
• 1x Gold Glove Award winner
• 1x Cy Young Award winner
• 58.7 bWAR, 70th all-time among pitchers and 15th among left handed pitchers
• 1.043 WHIP, sixth all-time and second among left-handed pitchers
• 11.13 K/9, second all-time
• 2628 K, 28th all-time and seventh among left-handed pitchers

Chris Sale is one of just 16 pitchers to have won both a Cy Young Award and a Gold Glove. That group includes names like Steve Carlton, Bob Gibson, and Greg Maddux. If he does reach a 10th All-Star appearance, he would join Carlton and Clayton Kershaw as the only pitchers with a Cy Young and a Gold Glove to hit that mark.

Everything is lined up for Sale to solidify his case. The Braves view him as both a frontline arm and a leader for their younger pitchers, and he is pitching on a team that gives him a legitimate shot at another World Series.

For some, he may already be worthy. For others, the next few seasons will determine it. Either way, Chris Sale has put himself firmly in the Hall of Fame conversation.