Left-hander Patrick Sandoval has been by lots prior to now yr and lately mentioned the twists and turns he’s been by with the MassLive Fenway Rundown podcast, as summarized by Chris Cotillo of MassLive.
The southpaw underwent surgical procedure on his ulnar collateral ligament in July of final yr and maybe essentially the most notable factor he talked about this week is that he had inside brace surgical procedure and never a full Tommy John process. When his surgical procedure was reported final summer season, it wasn’t 100% clear if he would require a full UCL reconstruction or the interior brace various.
Some within the media simply use “Tommy John surgical procedure” as a blanket time period to cowl any form of UCL surgical procedure however the distinction may be notable. The inner brace surgical procedure can typically enable a participant to return to play a few months faster than with a full reconstruction. That’s usually not an enormous distinction however it may make an influence in Sandoval’s case. A full Tommy John surgical procedure often takes about 14 months to get well from, a timeline that might have pushed Sandoval to a return round September. However since he had the interior brace various, it appears he and the Purple Sox are a bit extra optimistic about what he can contribute within the second half this yr.
That timeline additionally displays again on the curious determination by the Angels to non-tender him, which was a little bit of a shock when it occurred. They may have retained Sandoval through arbitration by each 2025 and 2026. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for a wage of $5.9MM this yr. Since he wasn’t going to have the ability to pitch a lot in 2025, that might restrict his skill to lift his wage in 2026, which means he most likely may have been retained for the 2 years for a complete of $12-15MM.
That wouldn’t have been a foul value for a pitcher as proficient as Sandoval, even when his restoration finally hit a snag and it was principally only for his 2026 contributions. Over the 2021 to 2024 seasons, Sandoval tossed 460 innings, permitting 3.80 earned runs per 9. His 22.6% strikeout charge, 10.2% stroll charge and 47.3% floor ball charge had been all fairly near league common.
However the Angels determined to only transfer on as an alternative, not tendering Sandoval a contract and sending him to free company, which caught Sandoval off-guard. “I wasn’t anticipating it in any respect,” he stated. “I received a name like two minutes earlier than the tender deadline. My agent had let me know that they determined to not tender me. I didn’t actually know methods to really feel. I understood, me getting back from damage, they may not need to pay me that cash to only sit and rehab for a yr. And so they have the precise to do this.”
Although the Angels had been apparently not eager on the thought of paying for Sandoval’s restoration, different groups had been. “The entire free agent expertise was insane,” Sandoval says. “You’re not anticipating it. I’m considering I nonetheless have two extra years till I get that chance to decide on which group I need to play for. The entire recruiting course of or no matter you need to name it, it form of introduced me again to love the highschool days of getting schools come and discuss to you.”
Sandoval reportedly obtained some curiosity from the Phillies however finally signed with the Purple Sox, a two-year deal that ensures him $18.25MM, within the type of $5.5MM this yr and $12.75MM subsequent yr. That’s doubtless just a few million greater than he would have made if the Angels simply saved him round, so it appears to have labored out for the lefty, although it could have been initially disorienting.
The Purple Sox appear to be going into 2025 with plenty of wild playing cards on the pitching workers. Garrett Crochet and Tanner Houck each had breakout seasons in 2024 however pushed their respective workloads to new heights. Walker Buehler got here again from a prolonged surgical procedure absence in 2024 however with middling outcomes. Lucas Giolito and Liam Hendriks missed all of final yr as a consequence of their very own surgical procedures. Garrett Whitlock missed most of it for a similar motive.
They determine to open the season with a rotation mixture of Crochet, Houck, Buehler, Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford. Giolito will leap in there, maybe as quickly as Opening Day, with Sandoval doubtless just a few months behind him.
