5 things to know about new Red Sox pitcher Patrick Sandoval
Sandoval showed some upside for a few seasons before struggling in 2024, when he underwent Tommy John surgery.
The Red Sox have added another lefty to their rotation.
Patrick Sandoval has agreed to a two-year, $18.25 million deal to join the Red Sox, per multiple reports. The 28-year-old lefty will receive a $5.5 million salary for the 2025 season and a $12.75 million salary in the 2026 season, according to The Boston Globe‘s Alex Speier.
Sandoval joins the Red Sox after spending his entire MLB career to this point with the Angels, who acquired him a trade with the Astros in July 2018. Here are five things to know about the newest Red Sox pitcher.
He’s coming off Tommy John surgery.
Sandoval won’t be able to go when pitchers and catchers report to Fort Meyers in February or when the Red Sox head to Texas for Opening Day on March 27. The lefty underwent Tommy John surgery in June to repair a high-grade flexor tear and a tear of his ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm.
The Angels didn’t provide a specific timeline for his recovery following surgery. However, the Red Sox are expecting him to return for the second half of the season, according to multiple reports.
It was the first time Sandoval underwent Tommy John surgery in his career. He also had a lower back stress fracture that prematurely ended his 2021 season.
He had a few solid seasons before struggling in 2024.
Sandoval appeared to be on the rise a couple of years after he made his MLB debut, moving from the bullpen to the rotation in the first few of months of the 2021 season. He went 3-6 with a 3.39 ERA, 1.180 WHIP, and 86 strikeouts in 79 2/3 innings over 14 starts that year, taking a no-hit bid into the ninth inning in one of those starts.
After returning from the back injury that ended his season early in 2021, Sandoval was even better in 2022. He went 6-9 with a 2.91 ERA, 1.339 WHIP, and 151 strikeouts in 148 2/3 innings over 27 starts. A rough month of June hurt Sandoval’s numbers in 2023 (7.11 ERA in five starts), going with a 4.11 ERA, 1.514 WHIP, and 128 strikeouts in 144 2/3 innings over 28 starts that year.
Still, the 2023 season marked the end of a strong three-year stretch for Sandoval. He went 16-28 with a 3.53 ERA, 1.375 WHIP, and 8.8 strikeouts per nine innings pitched. For reference, his strikeouts per nine in that three-year span would’ve ranked right outside the top 10 in the American League last season.
While that stretch earned Sandoval the honor to become the Angels’ Opening Day starter in 2024, he had a rough season before needing Tommy John surgery. He went 2-8 with a 5.08 ERA, 1.506 WHIP, and 81 strikeouts in 79 2/3 innings over 16 starts.
A pair of notable reasons why Sandoval’s number ballooned in the wrong direction in 2024. He began to use his fastball more often at the start of the season, which hitters had a .381 batting average and .524 slugging percentage against.
Sandoval began to ditch his fastball by May. But his advanced numbers suggest that he was also a bit unlucky. He had a 3.87 FIP and a 4.25 expected ERA, which are both noticeably better than the 5.08 ERA he finished the year with.
Sandoval appeared to show some improvement in his final handful of starts, posting a 3.96 ERA in his last five outings of the 2024 season.
He has a six-pitch repertoire, with his change-up ranking among the best in baseball.
As mentioned earlier, Sandoval’s fastball usage has gone down dramatically over the course of his MLB career. He went from using it in 46.4 percent of his pitches when he debuted in 2019 to using it for just 16 percent of his pitches in 2024, per Baseball Savant.
Sandoval has found success through offspeed pitches, though. His change-up has been among the best in baseball over the last few years, ranking fifth in in-zone whiff and chase rates, per Thomas Nestico. In the last two seasons, hitters have only hit .193 against Sandoval’s change-up.
Sandoval’s change-up was one of his two most frequently used pitches over the last two seasons (28.3 percent of his pitches in 2024). His slider was the other. That pitch has mostly been effective, with hitters posting a .201 batting average against it in 2022. In the last two seasons, opposing hitters have recorded a better batting average against Sandoval’s slider (.266), but he’s only given up three homers off his in 273 at-bats during that stretch.
In addition to his fastball, change-up, and slider, Sandoval also uses a curveball, sinker, and sweeper. He added the sweeper to his repertoire in 2023, using it for fewer than five percent of his pitches.
He starred for Mexico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
As he’s spent his entire career with the Angels, Sandoval hasn’t had many big-stage moments. But he shined on the international stage in 2023.
Sandoval was one of the best pitchers during the 2023 World Classic. Pitching for Mexico, he gave up a run on two hits and a strikeout over three innings in a win over the USA in group play. He got the start for Mexico in the semifinal against Japan, pitching 4 1/3 scoreless innings as he gave up four hits and struck out six.
Japan wound up getting a comeback, walk-off win against Mexico in the semifinal game. But Sandoval’s Mexico squad won the bronze medal game and he was one of the three pitchers named to the All-World Baseball Classic Team.
He’s arguably one of the most emotional pitchers on the mound, but he’s trying to fix it.
Sandoval hasn’t been shy in showing his feelings when he’s on the mound. In fact, then-Angels manager Phil Nevin said he pulled Sandoval from a game in 2023 because he thought his emotion was impacting his ability to pitch.
Ahead of the 2024 season, Sandoval wanted to strike a balance. He told the Orange County Register‘s Jeff Fletcher that he spoke with “a lot of people” about trying to keep his emotions in check when things didn’t go his way on the mound.
“I enjoy the emotional part of the game, big plays and big strikeouts,” Sandoval told Fletcher. “I’m not going to be a robot out there and just walk off the field. That’s just not who I am. It’s never who I’ve been.
“I’m definitely focusing more on the good that happens in the game and picking teammates up, and letting them know the obvious like ‘Hey, great play. That was awesome.’ That’s what I want to be for this team, someone that uplifts guys and is a good presence to be around, and someone that they can enjoy playing behind.”
Fletcher also noted that Sandoval wasn’t shy in showing his frustration in the past when his teammates made an error or a fielding mistake when he was on the mound.
Sandoval told The Athletic‘s Sam Blum in May that he became aware in 2022 that showing his frustration that way could impact how teammates view him, so he wanted to fix it.
“It’s gotten to a point where I have to consciously be aware of other people’s feelings,” Sandoval said. “It’s just not who I am when I’m on the mound. I turn into a different person. I have to flip the switch. And I need to pitch the way I want to pitch.”
Still, Sandoval clearly holds himself to a high bar and is upset when he doesn’t reach it. He told Blum that he “can’t even look at myself in the [expletive] mirror” after a bad start.
“It [expletive] sucks. I put my life and soul into this work,” Sandoval added in his comments to Blum. “And I lay my life on the line every time I go out there. I want everyone to know, my teammates to know, and everyone that’s watching, that I’m giving 1,000 percent of my capabilities out there every single time.”
Sandoval also made it clear in his conversation with Blum where that fire comes from.
“I want to win, and I want to win really bad,” Sandoval told Blum. “And I want to be a part of the winning.”
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