Red Sox sign former Angels southpaw Patrick Sandoval to 2-year deal (report)
The Red Sox made another move on Friday afternoon, signing former Angels left-handed starter Patrick Sandoval to a two-year, $18.25 million deal, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Sandoval underwent Tommy John surgery last June and is hoping to possibly pitch for the Red Sox in late 2025, if at all. He is expected to be fully healthy and ready for the 2026 season. The southpaw will earn $5.5 million in 2025 and $12.75 million in 2026.
Over parts of six big league seasons, Sandoval is 19-45 with a 4.01 ERA. He posted a 5.08 ERA with 81 strikeouts, 35 walks, and allowed eight homers over 79 2/3 innings this past season. The Mission Viejo, Calif., native has a career 4.01 ERA in six seasons with the Angels, with his best campaign coming in 2022, when he had a 2.91 ERA in 148 2/3 innings.
Prior to getting hurt, Sandoval ranked in the 88th percentile with a 5.1 barrel percentage, 70th percentile in hard-hit percent at 36.3%, and 68th percentile with a 45.7% roundball percentage, according to Baseball Savant.
The lefty offers a six-pitch mix that includes a changeup, slider, sinker, four-seam, curveball, and sweeper. He primarily uses his changeup (409) and slider (357) while sprinkling in his sinker and four-seamer. His command has never been great, but his fastball does sit around 93-94 mph and misses bats at an average clip.
Sandoval has been particularly dominant against left-handed hitters, where they’ve posted a career .195/.274/.324 slash line. His career numbers against righties have been less impressive, with a slash line of 195/.274/.391.
The Red Sox' latest addition helps build out their depth within their pitching infrastructure. Sandoval gets a deal similar to pitchers James Paxton, Liam Hendriks, and Michael Fulmer.
With the Red Sox looking to beef up their rotation this offseason with higher-end pitching options, Sandoval presents a low-risk/high-reward type candidate that could pitch at the backend of the rotation or as a bulk-innings hurler once he returns from his Tommy John rehab.
The Red Sox rotation currently projects to have newly acquired ace Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Brayan Bello, and Lucas Giolito. Other depth options include Cooper Criswell, Richard Fitts, Quinn Priester, and Hunter Dobbins. Sandoval is now another quality arm, once healthy to be added to the group of pitchers the Red Sox have been building out the last year. ]
