World Series ring with the Boston Red Sox in 2019 Jose Cruz Jr. Jersey , as the team picked up his $15 million contract option Tuesday.The next step should involve offering him roughly 10 times that amount to stay for the long haul.For now, the Red Sox are in no rush. They spent Wednesday celebrating their World Series victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers with a parade through Boston. According to Christopher Smith of MassLive.com, team owner John Henry had no updates on contract talks with Sale or anyone else:Christopher Smith SmittyOnMLBJohn Henry on a potential Chris Sale extension:quot;We havent had any conversations about any contracts thus far,quot; Henry said. quot;I havent Dave. Weve been focused like the players on one thing.quot;Even once their celebratory mood fades, the Red Sox still won't be in any hurry to extend Sale. He isn't slated for free agency untilnextwinter.If anything, now is arguablynot the time to lock up the left-hander.Though 2018 was a banner year for the seven-time All-Star in some respects  set new career marks with a 2.11 ERA and 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings was his most challenging year in others. Most notably, he went on the disabled list twice with left shoulder inflammation in the second half of the season.The 29-year-old wasn't the same after his second DL stint. His average fastball velocityand overall effectiveness dropped in September and October. A stomach ailmentalsoforced a brief hospital stay that cost him a start in the American League Championship Series.If Sale was a free agent right now under normal circumstances, his market value would be somewhere in the Max Scherzer/David Price neighborhood: seven years at $30 million a pop.Under these abnormal circumstances, however, his market value would almost certainly be approached with more caution. Maybe less Scherzer/Price and more Jon Lester: six years at $25 million a pop.When Sale and the Red Sox sit down to talk, it should be straightforward.Sale might accept a big payday now, or he may risk further injury for a bigger payday later. For the Red Sox, it would mean risking the big payday now and hoping to be rewarded with a pitcher worthy of an even bigger payday.As far as Boston should be concerned, there's one reassuring thing about Sale's shoulder: It's still intact.There's no way Sale would have been pitching at all in September or October if there was structural damage in his shoulder. Rust plausibly may be to blame for his issues. The four starts he made in September were basically a rehab assignment, and he struggled with his mechanics in one of them.Sale's fastball sat at 93.3 mph in the playoffs http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authent … yan-jersey , compared to 94.8 mph in the regular season. But he was able to reach back for 96-97 mph as needed, and he also threw some filthy sliders.He was especially nasty when he struck out the side to close out Game 5 of the World Series:It shouldn't be taken for granted that Sale's inevitable decline began with his shoulder woes.He could bounce right back in 2019, and more careful management of his workload could result in more of the same into 2020 and beyond.If that happens, the Red Sox would get $30 million value out of a pitcher they extended for $25 million.If not, the Red Sox would still have an insurance policy of sorts: Sale has proved he can pitch well without elite velocity.As part of a deliberate experiment, Sale dropped his average fastball from 95.1 mph to 93.7 mph in his final season with the Chicago White Sox in 2016. He put up a 3.34 ERA over 226.2 innings anyway, and he didn't need to boost his velocity to finish strong in the K/9 department.This speaks to what Sale has to lean on even if he's not throwing in the mid- or upper 90s. He can throw strikes with precision, and his four-pitch mix (four-seamer, sinker, slider, changeup) allows him to show hitters different angles and speeds.Considering all of this, the only real danger of giving Sale a big-money extension would be a complete breakdown of his health. The potential reward should weigh at least as heavily for the Red Sox.There's still the question of whether Sale is willing to sign a new deal now. He may prefer to bet on himself to have a huge walk year in 2019.Or not. Sale has always sung his own kind of tune, up to and especially including when he was asked about his contract status on WEEI in February:"I don't worry about that crap, honestly. I have one thing to do, right? Play baseball. Pitch. Be a good teammate. Those are all kind of all wrapped into one thing as what I am as a pitcher. I am not an agent. I am not an owner. I am not a general manager http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authent … iel-jersey , so I know basically nothing about contracts. If and when that happens, all of them can take care of that. I am worried about baseball."You'd think a guy who's been dramatically underpaid by his current contract (a five-year, $32.5 million deal signed in 2013) would be champing at the bit for more money. But Sale is Sale. He clearly prefers to keep his focus between the lines. The only thing he and his representatives might insist on is an early opt-out, not unlike the one that Price declined to exercise Wednesday. Such things are standard nowadays, and the Red Sox can view it as a possible way out of Sale's true decline years.All things considered, it's a logical time to make a deal. Sale and the Red Sox need only to come together to hammer it out. Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant. The future is now for the Chicago White Sox.Right-hander Michael Kopech, a hard-throwing 22-year-old who is widely regarded as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, will make his big league debut Tuesday night when the White Sox host the Minnesota Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field. Kopech will be promoted before the game from Triple-A Charlotte, where he has been dominant in recent weeks.His new teammates cannot wait to welcome him aboard.Article continues below ...“Really good, really good,” White Sox right-hander Reynaldo Lopez said. “We’re going to have one of the best prospects in the game with us. He’s one of the best, and everybody thinks he’s supposed to be a superstar, and we’re all excited.”The Boston Red Sox selected Kopech with the No. 33 overall pick in the 2013 draft out of Mount Pleasant (Texas) High School. He developed quickly and became a main piece in the trade that sent All-Star left-hander Chris Sale from Chicago to Boston.This season, Kopech has posted 170 strikeouts in 126 1/3 innings. He is 7-7 with a 3.70 ERA in 24 starts http://www.astrosfanproshop.com/authent … ick-jersey , but his past seven starts have been particularly dominant as he has an incredible 59-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio.White Sox catcher Kevan Smith is familiar with Kopech from his time in the minors.“(He is) electric, I guess you could say,” Smith said. “Heavy fastball, life toward the end. It’s heavy. That’s something he has. The last I caught him, we were playing with his changeup a little bit, trying to get his changeup numbers up. …“He’s been throwing the ball great. I’ve been keeping up with what he’s doing. No surprise he’s here.”Chicago (47-77) could use the lift as a disappointing season approaches its final month. Kopech projects as a mainstay in the starting rotation for years to come alongside fellow young arms Carlos Rodon, Lopez, Lucas Giolito and others on the way.Meanwhile, Minnesota (59-65) will try to take advantage of the rookie’s first day in the majors.Twins right-hander Jose Berrios — a top young arm in his own right — will make his 26th start of the season. The 24-year-old Puerto Rican is 11-8 with a 3.75 ERA with 157 strikeouts in 153 2/3 innings. He is looking to go deep into the game after failing to make it five innings in each of his past two starts.“We’ll do a little due diligence,” Twins manager Paul Molitor told the Minneapolis Star Tribune after Berrios’ last outing. “We all know how hard he works and how he crushes it between starts. … It could be just a matter of, he’s not feeling quite right — not physically, but whether his arm is trailing. Some mechanical things can get out of whack over the course of the season.”Berrios has shined against the White Sox throughout his career. In seven starts, he is 6-1 with a 2.28 ERA. He has walked 10 batters while striking out 54 in 47 1/3 innings.White Sox manager Rick Renteria could return to the dugout one day after he was hospitalized for feeling light-headed before Monday’s game in Minnesota. Renteria was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center for precautionary reasons.