Harry How/Getty ImagesChris Sale will return to chase another World Series ring with the Boston Red Sox in 2019 http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-jorge-posada-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鈥攈e set new career marks with a 2.11 ERA and 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings鈥攊t 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, 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 Don Larsen Jersey , 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, 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 http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-johnny-damon-jersey , FanGraphs and Baseball Savant. ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Angels celebrated Jose Briceno’s extra-inning homer with the frenzied enthusiasm of a team barreling toward the playoffs, not a team that needs a six-game winning streak this week just to finish at .500.Although the Angels are staying home for yet another October, they’re looking to build for next season with small successes — and big celebrations, apparently.Briceno delivered a pinch-hit homer leading off the 11th inning, and the Angels snapped their five-game skid with a 5-4 victory over the Texas Rangers on Monday night.Shohei Ohtani hit his 21st homer in the first inning and Michael Hermosillo added his first career homer as the Angels opened the final homestand of their fourth consecutive season out of the playoffs.After Taylor Cole (3-2) retired the Rangers in the 11th, Briceno drilled an 0-2 pitch from Matt Moore (3-8) to center for his fifth career homer. It was the Angels’ first walk-off homer by a pinch-hitter since Scott Spiezio did it in 2000.After improving to 76-81, the Angels were ready to party: Briceno’s teammates ripped his jersey off his back, tore his undershirt and repeatedly pelted him with rosin and liquids when he reached home plate.“Yeah, I didn’t know what was going on around me, so I just tried to close my eyes,” Briceno said with a grin.After a 1-5 road trip that included four straight humiliating blowout losses, the Angels returned home with a four-homer performance and a strong start from Felix Pena. The 28-year-old former Cubs reliever yielded five hits over seven innings and struck out six, continuing his improbable rise as a starter in the Angels’ injury-plagued rotation by matching the longest appearance of his career.Angels rookie Ty Buttrey was one out away from his fifth career save, but after Ronald Guzman doubled with two outs in the ninth, pinch-runner Delino DeShields scored the tying run on pinch-hitter Elvis Andrus‘ single to left.Guzman and Jurickson Profar homered for the Rangers, who opened their season-ending road trip with their sixth loss in eight games.“I thought it was a really well-played game,” Rangers interim manager Don Wakamatsu said. “We talked about playing throughout the rest of the season hard Masahiro Tanaka Jersey , with some energy, with some personality. We’ve got a lot of bright spots.”Adrian Sampson yielded five hits and four runs while pitching into the sixth for Texas.Two batters after Jefry Marte hit his first homer since Aug. 21 in the fourth inning, Hermosillo got his first career homer — and a big hug from Mike Trout on his way back to the dugout — in his 28th game with the Angels. The 23-year-old outfield prospect made his big-league debut in May, and he said his father already laid claim to his first home run ball in a fortuitously timed text message shortly before this game.Rougned Odor singled in the sixth and scored when Profar’s 19th homer barely cleared the wall in right.Marte was hit by a pitch from Sampson leading off the sixth. He advanced on a balk and a groundout before scoring the go-ahead run on Connor Sadzeck’s wild pitch.NUMBER 21Ohtani hit a 428-foot shot to right field in the first inning, interrupting a 3-for-22 slump with another superlative blast by the Angels’ two-way sensation. He has five homers while batting .327 against Texas this season. He also hit into two double plays and struck out, but his 21 homers are fourth-most among AL rookies.FREE PASSESTrout went 1 for 3 with two strikeouts, but drew his 116th and 117th walks of the season to set a franchise record, surpassing his mark in 2016.SCIOSCIA’S FUTUREBefore the game, Angels manager Mike Scioscia told the team-owned radio station that he would like to manage again next year. Scioscia is finishing his 19th season in the Angels’ dugout, and his contract expires this year. He has been widely expected to step down when the season concludes, but Scioscia sounded open to returning or to managing elsewhere in the majors.TRAINER’S ROOMAngels: Andrelton Simmons wasn’t in the starting lineup due to a sore knee, but he worked out on the field. The star shortstop landed awkwardly while fielding Sunday in Houston. … LF Justin Upton got a rest day.UP NEXTRangers: Yovani Gallardo (8-6, 6.59 ERA) is 1-5 in his last seven starts, and he has a 6.91 ERA since the beginning of August.Angels: Matt Shoemaker (2-2, 5.48 ERA) makes the sixth start of his injury-plagued season after getting chased in the third inning of last appearance in Oakland.