The Boston Red Sox, as speculated, are still active on the starting pitching market. After acquiring Garret Crochet in a trade with the Chicago White Sox, the Red Sox have added another piece to their starting rotation for 2025. “Left-hander Patrick Sandoval and the Boston Red Sox are in agreement on a two-year, $18.25 million contract, sources tell ESPN,” Jeff Passan reported on Twitter. “Sandoval, 28, is coming off Tommy John surgery and expects to return in the second half. He gets a strong deal with Boston looking toward 2026 as well.”
Although Sandoval will not be ready to pitch by Opening Day, the left-hander offers some much-needed rotation depth to a team that saw starts from 13 different pitchers in 2024. Sandoval suffered an elbow injury in June that required Tommy John surgery after starting 16 games and pitching 79 2/3 innings. Over the prior two seasons, Sandoval posted a 3.50 ERA (121 ERA+) across 55 starts, with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 279-to-134 and an opponent batting average of .251.
The Red Sox are no strangers to such moves, signing James Paxton in December of 2021 to a two-year deal under the presumption that he would not be ready to pitch until mid-2022 at the earliest. Last offseason, the Red Sox executed a similar move when they signed closer Liam Hendriks, also to a two-year contract, and also with the expectation that Hendriks would not be available to pitch until mid-summer. Both Paxton and Hendriks signed in Boston following a Tommy John surgery, and both went on to miss their expected return date. In fact, both pitchers did not pitch a single inning for the Red Sox in the first years of their contracts. Boston has received much acclaim for its training staff and pitching coaches, fronted by Andrew Bailey. There is widespread confidence in Bailey to bring out the best in pitchers, especially those who have had prior major league success. The larger question is when Sandoval will be ready to return.
“Sandoval will make $5.5 million in 2025 and $12.75 million in 2026,” said Alex Speier of The Boston Globe. “Sox are still open to other rotation moves, but this provides potential late-season reinforcement and a rotation member for 2026.” Only time will tell if the Red Sox will be paying Sandoval’s initial $5.5 million salary strictly to rehabilitate in Boston, or if he could be an asset in helping the Red Sox return to the postseason for the first time in four years.