Braves exercise $18M option to retain LHP Chris Sale for 2026

The Atlanta Braves are exercising the $18 million team option in Chris Sale's contract to keep the left-hander in the fold for 2026.

Sale was 7-5 with a 2.58 ERA in 2025 but spent 10 weeks on the injured list with a fractured ribcage. He had 165 strikeouts, including four nine-K games in five starts in September after he rejoined the rotation.

Sale turns 37 on March 30, scheduled to be the opening game of Atlanta's second series of the 2026 regular season.

In his debut season in Atlanta and the National League in 2024, Sale led the NL with 18 wins, a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts.

He spent 13 seasons in the American League, breaking in with the Chicago White Sox in 2010 before he was traded to the Boston Red Sox in 2017.

In 393 games (312 starts), Sale has a 145-88 record. He has an ERA of 3.01 and 2,579 strikeouts in 2,084 innings.

--Field Level Media