Sale wants Buehrle to retire with White Sox

If it were up to Chris Sale, his old friend Mark Buehrle would be back in the Chicago White Sox dugout right now.

Buehrle, who hasn't pitched this season, re-ignited discussion about his future in the game when he showed up at U.S. Cellular Field over the weekend to watch the White Sox face another of his former teams, the Toronto Blue Jays. Sale met up with his ex-teammate on the weekend, and said afterwards that the 37-year-old should rejoin the South Side squad so he can retire as a member of the club.

"For me personally, I would like to see it," Sale told Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago. "When you think of Mark Buehrle, you think of him in a White Sox uniform, wearing the black jersey with the pinstripes on the bottom.

"I don't think he could go out any other way. Especially it would be nice to see him in a White Sox hat when he goes to the Hall of Fame."

Though it may be a stretch to suggest Buehrle is bound for Cooperstown, he is indeed an iconic and beloved figure in White Sox history. A 38th-round pick by the team in 1998, the durable left-hander threw a no-hitter and perfect game with the team, threw his first 11 of a record-tying 14 consecutive 200-inning seasons in a White Sox jersey, and was a key figure on the 2005 World Series-winning team.

The White Sox haven't issued Buehrle's No. 56 since he left the team five years ago.

The oft-quiet Buehrle continued to be tight-lipped about his future over the weekend, only telling CSN Chicago's Chuck Garfien that he's pitching to his son's Little League team and "might be" or "might not be" contemplating a comeback with either the White Sox or Blue Jays. He's being so quiet that even Sale doesn't know what his plans are.

"We don't talk about business when he comes around," Sale said. "It was good to see him and whatever unfolds, I think it will be fun regardless of what happens."