Boston Red Sox ace left-hander Chris Sale will undergo Tommy John surgery on his left elbow.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the news on Twitter: “#RedSox just announced Chris Sale will undergo Tommy John surgery.”

Sale will miss the entire 2020 season, whenever it begins. He was expected to be out indefinitely with left elbow inflammation and at first, a series of meetings with Dr. James Andrews determined that he would not require surgery.

That said, there was always an option to undergo Tommy John surgery. Sale went on the disabled list at the end of last season due to the same issue. The left-hander has had elbow problems in his three years with the Red Sox, so making sure the injury is well-treated is a priority.

The MLB regular season will remain suspended indefinitely due to COVID-19 concerns and probably thought it was for the best to have a surgery now and start the recovery process.

This is still a very tough blow for the Red Sox. They traded their best player, right fielder Mookie Betts to the Dodgers along with left-hander David Price and missing Sale as well cripples their roster significantly.

The Red Sox signed Sale to a five-year, $145 million contract extension last March but he struggled last season, going just 6-11 with a 4.40 ERA in 25 starts and key metrics like walks per nine innings and home runs per nine innings saw a significant increase.

Replacing Sale in the starting rotation once the season starts will be impossible and is hard not to wonder if he will ever be the same once he comes back.