The Boston Red Sox have placed star pitcher Chris Sale back on the 10-day disabled list as he continues to battle shoulder inflammation, according to Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe.

Sale was placed on the disabled list with the same injury concern earlier this month, and he only made one start (last Sunday vs. the Baltimore Orioles), before one again being shelved.

The Red Sox are running away with the best record in all of baseball, and they'll certainly have home advantage throughout the 2018 postseason. As such, they have every reason to play it safe with Sale, who unfortunately almost certainly won't be winning the AL Cy Young at this point.

Sale is 12-4 this season with an incredible 1.97 ERA and 219 strikeouts in just 146 innings pitched. But it's worrisome that he's been placed on the DL twice in a matter of weeks, and the Red Sox can only hope he's going to be recovered in plenty of time before the postseason begins.

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Throughout his career, Sale has notably regressed late in the season, and he was far from his usual dominant self during the Red Sox ALDS series vs. the Houston Astros. It's always concerning when a pitcher has a shoulder injury, and its possible he's already beginning to wear out.

The good news for the Red Sox is that their rotation is deep with Rick Porcello and David Price also enjoying strong seasons. Their bullpen is also among the best in baseball, so this team is built to get by without the ace of its rotation.

Perhaps Sale will be back in less than two weeks, and he'll be good to pitch from then on to the rest of the season. But the Red Sox have to continue to monitor the situation closely, because they can't afford to lose Sale as the organization pushes for its fourth championship in 14 years.

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