Red Sox’ Patrick Sandoval could factor into rotation sooner than anticipated
Sandoval, who Boston signed to a two-year, $18.25 million contract, underwent an internal brace procedure last July.
The Red Sox have considered using a six-man starting rotation in 2025.
Newly signed left-handed pitcher Patrick Sandoval could contribute to that earlier than originally thought.
It was known that the southpaw underwent elbow surgery after tearing his UCL in his throwing arm last summer. However, Sandoval clarified that he did not undergo Tommy John surgery, but rather an internal brace procedure. Tommy John surgery typically has a 12-month recovery period while the internal brace procedure, an alternative to TJ, boasts a shorter recovery time.
Sandoval said on MassLive’s “Fenway Rundown” podcast that he’s begun his throwing program. If he had undergone Tommy John, he might not be throwing right now.
“Starting to feel more and more like an athlete every day,” he said. “That’s kind of the biggest grind of it at the beginning, not being able to do much activity at all and then slowly ramping up. I’m in a good spot and I feel really good.
“To get back and be able to compete and help this team win games down the stretch, that’s my goal for this year. To be able to work my way back and be able to compete in those games.”
When Sandoval signed with Boston on Dec. 23, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said he hoped to see the 28-year-old return to the mound some time in the second half of the season. Given Sandoval’s surgery clarification, he could begin contributing to the Red Sox sooner than that.
As it currently stands, Sandoval would not fit in a traditional five-man Boston rotation. Six starters in Brayan Bello, Walker Buehler, Kutter Crawford, Garrett Crochet, Lucas Giolito, and Tanner Houck are presumably ahead of him on the depth chart.
However, multiple members of that rotation do have injury histories. Sandoval could easily slot into the rotation if one of those arms were to go down.
Through his six-year MLB career, Sandoval has started 100 games and pitched 536 innings. His experience could lend Boston a helping hand if the injury bug hits, or if pitchers need extra days off between starts.
Last month, Breslow offered insight into what the team plans to do with Sandoval otherwise once he’s healthy.
“We identified Sandoval as someone we felt like we could provide with some development opportunities, could tweak the pitch usage a little bit, and could get him back to where he was a couple years ago as a dominant left-handed starter,” he told The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.
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