Patrick Sandoval DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

The Boston Red Sox placed left-hander Patrick Sandoval (elbow) on the 60-day injured list over the weekend to make room on the 40-man roster for third baseman Alex Bregman. Sandoval signed a two-year, $18.25 million deal with the Red Sox in the offseason, but he's unlikely to be ready to make his Boston debut in 2025 until some point in the second half of the season after undergoing an internal-brace procedure on his left elbow in June of 2024. For that reason, the 28-year-old southpaw can be ignored in the majority of single-year fantasy leagues. Sandoval's strikeout and walk rates were trending in the right direction with the Los Angeles Angels last year before his injury, although he went 2-8 with a 5.08 ERA and 1.51 WHIP with 81 strikeouts in 79 2/3 innings pitched over 16 starts. At best, Sandoval is a stash candidate in deep-mixed and AL-only formats this year.

Boston Red Sox left-hander Patrick Sandoval (elbow) clarified recently that he had an internal-brace procedure, not full Tommy John surgery, on his left throwing elbow in early July of 2024. Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said he hoped that Sandoval could join the starting rotation at some point in the second half of the 2025 campaign. The former Angels hurler started his throwing program a few weeks ago and is progressing nicely with spring training around the corner in three-plus weeks. "I'm in a good spot and I feel really good," Sandoval said. The 28-year-old southpaw's 5.08 ERA in 16 starts last year likely had a lot to do with his arm injury, and he was also pretty unlucky with a high .341 batting average on balls in play (BABIP). There's bounce-back potential, but fantasy managers in standard-sized leagues can probably ignore him in drafts since he'll miss at least half the season.

Free-agent left-hander Patrick Sandoval (elbow) and the Boston Red Sox agreed on a two-year, $18.25 million deal on Friday, according to sources. The 28-year-old left-hander is coming off an internal-brace procedure on his left elbow but expects to return at some point in the second half of the 2025 season. He became a free agent after the Los Angeles Angels non-tendered him in November. Sandoval won't be on the fantasy radar to begin the season and will probably be too risky to roster in the majority of formats once he returns in the second half in his debut with Boston. He's the second left-handed starter the BoSox have added this offseason after the traded for Garrett Crochet. Sandoval leans more on his secondary pitches than he does an average fastball, which limits his fantasy upside with a career 22.7% strikeout rate. He has a 4.01 career ERA with a 1.39 WHIP in six MLB seasons to date.