Red Sox sign Patrick Sandoval

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

9:55 a.m.: The red socks and the left wing Patrick Sandoval agreed to a two-year deal worth $18.25 million guaranteed. reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The Wasserman client was non-tendered 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 bit more, but he could be a late-season option in Boston and should be a member of their 2026 rotation.

Sandoval’s two-year guarantee makes the Angels’ decision not to tender him and his projected $5.9 million salary (via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) look even more questionable. Even if Sandoval had missed the entire 2025 season, he would have been in line to just repeat that $5.9 million salary — a total of $11.8 million. There is no way he would have secured a nearly $6.5 million raise on the projected 2025 salary heading into the 2026 season.

The Angels presumably shopped Sandoval around before cutting him loose, and market conditions have changed since then. Still, recent two-year deals for Tommy John rehabs have similar timelines (eg Tyler Mahle, German Marquez) shows that there could have been trade interest for the lefty in the end, but the Halos instead opted for immediate salary flexibility. Maybe that made it easier for them to sign Yusei Kikuchi on a three-year deal, but Sandoval’s deal with the Red Sox shows that he most likely would have had at least modest trade value if the Halos had offered him a contract and continued to explore the market for his services.

Although his exact timetable for a return to a big league mound cannot be known this far into the rehab process, Sandoval is a quality arm who will step into the middle of the Boston rotation whenever he is cleared. A few days before his injury, I took a look at the statistical similarities between Sandoval and another lefty – popular trade target Jesus Luzardo. Going back to 2021, Sandoval has a 3.80 ERA with fairly average strikeout numbers (22.6%) and a somewhat heavy 10.2% walk rate.

Sandoval’s command isn’t great and never has been, but that number is skewed a bit with an 11.3% mark from 2023 looking like a clear outlier. Sandoval had a 9.3% walk rate in 2021, 2022 and 2024. That’s still not great, but it’s only about a percentage point north of the league average. He sits 93-94 mph with both his four-seamer and sinker, and complements the fastballs with a slider that misses bats and a changeup that helps him keep his right leg in check. He still carries a remarkable platoon split, but right-handed hitters haven’t exactly crushed him (.263/.344/.391) and lefties should practically not bother swinging (.195/.274/.324).

Sandoval isn’t a star, but has proven to be a capable third or fourth starter, even in a struggling rotation. He will of course open the season on the injured list, but will eventually give Boston another arm to participate in a starting mix that includes Garrett crochet, Tanner Houck, Cutter Crawford, Brian Bello and at some point Lucas Giolito. Like Sandoval, Giolito is recovering from UCL surgery, but his was done last March, so he should be back a few months sooner. Garrett Whitlock gives the Sox another potential rotation arm who is improving from a Tommy John procedure, though he could factor into either the ‘pen or the rotation.

The Red Sox could very well add another starting pitcher. They have been tied to Corbin Burns on the free agent market and reportedly also looked into the availability of the Mariners righty Luis Castillo and Padres righty Dylan Hold up. With several arms recovering from surgery and a number of starters with just one full season of rotation experience under their belts (Crochet, Houck, Crawford, Bello), another arm feels cautious — even if it’s not a front-of-the-rotation type.

With Sandoval now in tow, RosterResource projects Red Sox for a $155MM payroll and luxury tax liabilities worth about $191MM. They are nowhere near the $241MM tax line, thanks in no small part to going the trade route for their first impact rotation addition of the winter (Crochet). That leaves ample opportunity for the Sox to bring in another arm and continue to scour the markets for Alex Bregman, Teoscar Hernandez and other high-profile targets.