Red Sox sign Patrick Sandoval

10:20 a.m.: Sandoval will make $5.5 million in 2025 and $12.75 million in 2026, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports. Speier adds that the Sox are still open to further rotation acquisitions.

9:55 a.m.: The Red Sox and the Left Patrick Sandoval have agreed to a two-year deal worth $18.25 million guaranteed, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports. The Wasserman prospect was not picked up by the Angels last month and is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery performed in June. He will miss at least the first half of the 2025 season, if not a little more, but could be a late-season option in Boston and should be in their rotation in 2026.

Sandoval’s two-year guarantee makes the Angels’ decision to non-tender him and his projected salary of $5.9 million (via MLBTR’s Matt Swartz) seem all the more dubious. Even if Sandoval had missed the entire 2025 season, he would have only had to repeat his salary of $5.9 million, for a total of $11.8 million. There is no way he would have secured a nearly $6.5 million raise to his projected 2025 salary before the start of the 2026 season.

The Angels likely took care of Sandoval before letting him go, and market conditions have changed since then. However, there are current two-year contracts for Tommy John rehabbers on similar schedules (e.g Tyler Mahle, German Marquez) show that there may have been trade interest in the left-hander at some point, but the Halos opted for immediate salary flexibility instead. Maybe that made it easier for her to sign Yusei Kikuchi on a three-year deal, but Sandoval’s contract with the Red Sox shows that he most likely would have had at least modest trade value had the Halos offered him a contract and further explored the market for his services.

While his exact timetable for a return to the big leagues is not yet known, this far into the rehab process, Sandoval is a good arm who will slot into the middle of Boston’s rotation whenever he is free. Just days before his injury, I looked at the statistical similarities between Sandoval and another left-handed hitter – a popular trade target Jesus Luzardo. Coming from 2021, Sandoval has a 3.80 ERA with a roughly average strikeout rate (22.6%) and a somewhat high walk rate of 10.2%.

Sandoval’s command isn’t great and never has been, but that number is somewhat skewed by an 11.3% mark from 2023, which looks like a clear outlier. Sandoval posted a 9.3% walk rate in 2021, 2022 and 2024. That’s still not good, but it’s only about a percentage point above league average. He hits 93-94 mph with his four-seater and his sinker alike, and complements those fastballs with a slider that makes hitters miss and a changeup that helps him keep right-handers at bay. He still has remarkable group spread, but righties haven’t exactly beaten him (.263/.344/.391) and lefties practically shouldn’t bother swinging (.195/.274/.324).

Sandoval isn’t a star, but has proven to be a capable third or fourth starter even in a competitive rotation. He will of course open the season on the injured list, but will eventually give Boston another arm to join a starting lineup that includes: Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Cutter Crawford, Brayan Bello and sometime Lucas Giolito. Like Sandoval, Giolito is also on the mend after UCL surgery, but it was performed last March, so he should be back a few months early. Garrett Whitlock gives the Sox another potential rotation arm who is on the mend after Tommy John surgery, although he could consider either the pen or the rotation.

The Red Sox could certainly add another starting pitcher. They were tied up Corbin Burnes on the free agent market and have also reportedly assessed the availability of Mariners righty Luis Castillo and Padres right Dylan Stop it. With several teams on the mend after surgery and a number of starters with only one full rotation season of experience under their belt (Crochet, Houck, Crawford, Bello), another team feels prudent – even if it doesn’t is an initial training. Rotary type.

With Sandoval now in tow, RosterResource projects the Red Sox to have $155 million in salary and luxury tax obligations worth about $191 million. They’re nowhere near the $241 million tax threshold, thanks in no small part to the fact that they took the trade route for their first impactful rotation expansion of the winter (Crochet). That leaves the Sox plenty of opportunity to add another arm and continue sniffing around the markets Alex Bregman, Teoscar Hernandez and other high-profile targets.