The Red Sox announced that they have reinstated left-hander Patrick Sandoval from the 60-day injured list. He will pitch for the Sox on Thursday, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. Fellow lefty Alec Gamboa has been optioned to Triple-A Worcester in a corresponding active roster move. Right-hander Jack Anderson has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot.
When Sandoval gets into a game, it will be his first big league appearance in over two years. His last outing came with the Angels in June of 2024. He required surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow shortly thereafter. The Angels non-tendered him in the following offseason.
The Red Sox scooped up Sandoval with a two-year, $18.25MM deal. Ideally, he could have joined the club late in 2025 before giving the Sox a full and healthy season in 2026. A few setbacks prevented that scenario from playing out. Sandoval wasn’t able to come off the IL in 2025 and has now spent more than half of the 2026 campaign on the shelf as well.
Obviously, the Sox would have preferred an earlier return, but this activation is still good timing for them. They have had a number of rotation injuries this year, with Garrett Crochet, Kutter Crawford, Johan Oviedo and Tanner Houck missing most or all of the campaign. Connelly Early just joined that group on the IL a week ago, leaving Boston with a rotation consisting of Sonny Gray, Ranger Suárez, Payton Tolle and Jake Bennett. Suarez is also banged up, as he left last night’s game with adductor tightness.
Whether or not Suárez hits the IL remains to be seen but Sandoval should be able to step in and take Early’s spot. Sandoval’s tossed 18 1/3 innings on his recent rehab assignment with a 1.96 earned run average. His last outing saw him get to five scoreless innings in a Double-A game on Saturday, throwing 68 pitches in the process. He should be good for something close to a full starter’s workload when he takes the ball on Thursday.
Last week, it was reported that Sandoval was being scouted by rival clubs who thought Sandoval would be available on the trade block. However, that was before Early hit the IL and the Suárez injury appeared. The Boston rotation needs Sandoval now a bit more than it did at that time. Also, the Sox have been playing better of late. They have gone 8-2 in their past ten games. Their 40-48 record isn’t good but they are only four games out of a playoff spot in the weak American League Wild Card field.
Sandoval is a rental and would make sense as a trade candidate if the Sox decide to sell ahead of the August 3rd deadline. For now, with their recent injuries and surge in the standings, they can keep him in the rotation and see what happens. He would surely garner some interest based on his previous work. From 2021 to 2024, he gave the Angels 460 innings with a 3.80 ERA. His 10.2% walk rate was a bit high but his 22.6% strikeout rate was right around average while his 47.3% ground ball rate was a few ticks above par.
How he looks in the next few weeks will naturally impact his trade value as well. His contract is back-loaded and he is making $12.75MM this year, which will leave a bit under $4MM to be paid out as the deadline rolls around. Even if he puts together a few good starts between now and the start of next month, the Sox would probably have to eat some of that for a guy who has missed so much time.
Anderson, 26, was just added to the roster a few months ago. He has mostly been on optional assignment. His big league track record consists of eight innings thrown over three games, allowing three earned runs. He has generally been considered a bit below the level of a viable prospect since his fastball barely averages 90 miles per hour. He has thrown 58 Triple-A innings this year with a 4.81 ERA, 20.5% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate.
He will likely be on waivers in the coming days. He has a full slate of options and could perhaps appeal to a club in need of a fresh arm. If he were to clear waivers, he would stick with the Red Sox as non-roster depth. Since he doesn’t have a previous career outright nor three years of big league service time, he would not have the right to elect free agency.
Photo courtesy of Rick Cinclair, Imagn Images
