According to Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci, the Phillies have expressed interest in signing free agent starter Patrick Sandoval. Verducci also notes the Phillies aren’t alone in considering the left-hander, though he does not name any other teams that might have checked in.
Sandoval, 28, was somewhat surprisingly non-tendered by the Angels earlier this offseason. The southpaw was projected to earn $5.9MM next year in his second season of arbitration eligibility. The Angels seemingly decided that was too much to pay for an arm who will not pitch for most (if not all) of the 2025 campaign; he underwent Tommy John surgery this past June. However, if Sandoval cannot pitch in 2025, he’d likely earn an identical $5.9MM salary in 2026. That’s a total of $11.8MM over both seasons. If he comes back healthy in 2026 and pitches anything like he has over the past four years, $11.8MM would still be an excellent value for his services.
From 2021-24, Sandoval threw 460 innings for the Angels, pitching to a 3.80 ERA and 4.35 SIERA. His 5.08 ERA over 16 starts in 2024 was unsightly, but his 4.26 SIERA suggests he was the victim of some bad luck, as does his high BABIP (.341) and low strand rate (66.2%). According to FanGraphs, Sandoval has been worth 8.8 Wins Above Replacement over the last four seasons, including 1.2 WAR in 16 starts this past year. That’s an average of 2.9 WAR per 150 innings pitched. That kind of production goes for much more than $11.8MM on the open market.
Nevertheless, the Angels decided not to commit themselves to Sandoval, freeing him up to sign elsewhere as a free agent. He is likely looking for a backloaded two-year pact that would allow him to rehab with his new team in 2025 and hopefully pitch a full, healthy season in 2026. A good comparison is the two-year, $22MM contract Tyler Mahle signed with the Rangers last winter. He earned $5.5MM in the first year of the deal and will earn $16.5MM in the second. Like Sandoval, Mahle was rehabbing from Tommy John and unlikely to pitch for most of 2024. What’s more, Mahle had thrown 503 2/3 innings with a 4.22 ERA and 3.93 SIERA in the five seasons preceding his TJS, very similar numbers to Sandoval’s. Mahle had his surgery a month and a half earlier in the season than Sandoval did – early May as opposed to late June – which meant he was more likely to pitch in at least part of the first year of his deal. That might have given Mahle slightly more earning potential than Sandoval has right now. Still, it’s a useful point of comparison to estimate Sandoval’s value on the open market.
It’s easy to see why the Phillies would like the idea of a backloaded contract that keeps costs low next season. Their projected payroll for 2025 (per RosterResource) is currently $271MM, more than $20MM higher than last year’s final tally. However, they have several contracts coming off the books next winter. J.T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber, Jordan Romano, and Ranger Suárez will be free agents after this coming season, potentially freeing up more than $60MM in payroll. That would make it easier for Philadelphia to pay Sandoval a higher salary in the second year of his theoretical deal.
Speaking of Suárez, the Phillies could be eyeing Sandoval as a potential replacement if the former leaves in free agency before the 2026 campaign. Like Suárez, Sandoval is a left-hander with a deep arsenal of pitches. Suárez has been a key contributor for Philadelphia over the past four years, and he’s been slightly more productive than Sandoval. In 537 innings, he has a 3.27 ERA, 3.92 SIERA, and 11.2 fWAR. Yet, with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Cristopher Sánchez already under contract for several more years and top prospect Andrew Painter nearing his debut, the Phillies might not be interested in keeping Suárez around long-term. Sandoval could represent an intriguing, and less expensive, alternative.
Angels are playing NE64 while everyone else is rocking a Switch
Phillies should trade Bryce Harper to the Yankees for some prospects.
Throw in Embid!!
Interesting take! Please provide more details. Which Yankees prospects are we talking here?
The whole farm system starting with Dominguez.
Remember where you heard it. Harper, who has a full no-trade clause in his contract, will never win a championship with the Phillies, and will request to be traded to the Athletics as soon as their new park in Las Vegas is ready a few years from now. The Phillies, of course, will be forced to oblige, and probably get a lot less for Harper than the trade is worth. Harper has already requested a revision of his current contract because he allegedly wants to be able to retire in a Phillies uniform. He wants to add years to his contract and, in light of the contracts written for guys like Trout and Soto since Harper signed his contract, he probably also wants more money. The Phillies have, thus far, balked at Harper’s request. Harper is one of the most talented and hardest working players in the game. He will be remembered as one of the greatest clutch hitters the game has ever seen. Nevertheless, he has never won a world championship and, considering how the Phils are not improving their roster as much as other teams in baseball, chances are he will never win one while wearing Phillies pinstripes. If it was my call, I’d be trading Schwarber, Realmuto and Walker right now. I’d probably hold on to Suarez and try to extend his contract but, if a new contract couldn’t be signed by the trade deadline, I’d also trade him by mid-season. I would immediately start bringing up minor league talent like catcher Rafael Marchan and starter Andrew Painter, and build my team to accommodate infielder Aiden Miller and outfielder Justin Crawford as soon as they were ready for prime time. In the meantime, I’d add both a center fielder and a corner outfielder, as well as a legitimate closer. I would protect Harper, Castellanos, Turner, Bohm, Stott and Sosa, as well as the Phils’ current pitching staff, minus Walker and possibly Suarez if he couldn’t be extended. I would consider everyone else on the current roster expendable. However, if I could trade Stott’s annoying walk-up song AOAOK, I would do that also. The trades I would consider pursuing would be for center fielder Jake McCarthy from the Diamondbacks, Luis Arraez from the Padres, Robert Jr from the White Sox, Tucker and Valdez from the Astros, Bellinger and Suzuki from the Cubs, and closers Clase from the Guardians or Helsley from the Cards. If I couldn’t swing a trade for any of these players, I’d pursue free agent outfielders Hernandez, Santander or Profar and, if I could trade Schwarber and move Harper to DH, I’d consider Christian Walker to play first base or Nolan Arenado to play third, first and DH in tandem with Bohm and Harper, especially if such a trade allowed me to acquire Helsley from the Cards. As we speak, the Phils do not appear to be the equal of the Dodgers, Mets or Braves. Unfortunately, they probably won’t until they realize that Leo Durocher was right and nice guys finish last. If the Phillies really expect to be competitive in 2025, they need to get real about the current status of their club, part company with their pending free agents, and inject some new blood into a team that has gotten too old and too comfortable for the competition.
Lol. They literally won 95 games last year and the bullpen blew 2 out of 3 games in a short playoff series. You’re acting like they fell apart. This whole rant was nonsense, but you should write gossip columns.
von, Face it. The Phils fell apart, which was not totally unexpected. Unless they make some major changes, they’ll fall apart again. I’m a longtime Phillies fan, but I don’t like the makeup or direction of this current club. By the way, my post was far from one of my typical rants. Actually, it was as perspicuous as it was perspicacious.
I’m not saying I don’t want changes, but saying they fell apart is ridiculous. They lost a short series in the playoffs. The bats were ice cold and the bullpen blew 2 games in the 8th inning. They were 6 outs away from sweeping that series and then the narrative would have been how great they are.
It’s very difficult to win the World Series. What you need to do is put together a team that could get there. The Phillies have that. They need to execute. They don’t need drastic changes, although I’m all for that too. People put too much emphasis on the results of a short series which involve so much luck and momentum. Phillies beat the Braves in 2 of those series, and I still don’t think we’re necessarily better than the Braves. It just happens sometimes.
Personally I see 2 simple problems with this Phillies team: offensive production from the OF and the 5th starter spot. You fix those two simple things and I’m very happy.
von, Face it. The Phils can’t win with this team. They have too many pampered, overpaid stars and they play like they’re playing in an all-star game, rather than a MLB game that really matters. Make the fixes I recommended, and this team may have a chance. For the record, I was Phillies fan back in the Connie Mack Stadium days when the Phils and Cubs battled each other every season to see which one would climb out of the cellar. Baseball was different then. It was a much more fulfilling game, and rooting for a losing team wasn’t all that bad because the players on those teams played their hearts out. Tell me things haven’t changed. Tell me Hollywood hasn’t come to Citizens Bank Park.
Sorry. I don’t agree with anything you’re saying. This is one of the best Phillies team we’ve ever had. Being a fan since the Connie Mack days you should remember some of the slop we put out there year after year,
If they feel the need to completely blow up the roster for improvements, then so be it. That’s baseball, but this team is a top 5 team in baseball as currently constructed and you’re acting like they’re terrible.
This comment just shows a total lack of understanding about how baseball playoffs work – go troll elsewhere
von, The Phils won 95 games in 2024 because of their incredibly padded first-half schedule. With only a few exceptions, they played teams with losing records. In the second-half, they started playing teams with winning records and their won-loss record significantly changed. In the first half of the season, the Phils were used to taking early leads and having inferior teams quickly lay down and die. In the second half, legitimate contenders fought back, and the Phillies didn’t know how to handle it. The Phils were conditioned to beat up on weaker teams in the first half of the season. Their inability to compete against better teams in the second half speaks volumes about the nature of their team – both players and manager.
The counter point to this is they had 1 bad month. They had a winning record every month except one, and that one month makes their second half look worse than it was.
They competed against plenty of better teams late in the year, winning huge series against the Braves, Dodgers, Padres and more.
You can make the stats sing anyway you want to. You can be doom and gloom or a positive Pete. The Phillies are a fine, yet flawed team.
Weaker teams would lay down and die?? What BS. The only thing speaking in volumes here is your cluelessness
They were 49-41 against winning teams in 24. The Mets, who eliminated the Phillies had a 47-46 record. Your theory is just stuff that you thought of in your head, but the numbers say otherwise. The Mets were a decent team for most of the year. They were hotter than the Phillies in the playoffs. It’s that simple.
What in the ChatGPT is this?
@onthebucks,
Interesting take! Please provide more details.
Keep dreaming! Bryce Harper is a Phillie for life and will be World Series MVP by the 250th Birthday of the USA
Trade Schwarber and replace his production with who? Someone from your delusional dream trades?
Trade Walker, as if there are any teams wanting to trade for him?
Trade Realmuto, who has absolutely no trade value? What team would want a declining 34 year old 24+ million a year catcher with past knee problems and an expiring contract?
Kimbrel had a rough post season from being overused and burned out. Clase just flat out choked in the playoffs
Yankees no longer have many prospects that they could offer to get him. Maybe trade Harper to Boston & they have their top 3 prospects still available.
That would be a Hard.. NO!!
Non tendering a pitcher going through TJ rehab is an absolute dog act. It should be banned in the next cba somehow. It happens regularly, and I shake my head every time. There’s got to be a better way than simply “see ya!’
NFL teams do it all the time with players on non-guaranteed contracts.
As a business decision, some teams don’t want to pay a guy for a year they wont pitch at all and only will maybe be good for the one more year of team control they’ll have. It’s not that surprising. Some team will offer him a deal though.
I get the “it’s business” thing. It’s still a dog act. Guys bust their bodies for the teams (well, some do) and when their elbows give out, the team is essentially giving the player a giant middle finger.
I’ve got a solution, maybe. After you’ve been on a 40 man for at least a year, and you get TJ, or any major surgery that’ll DL you for a year, all those players should get 2 years pay at the minimum as severance if they get non tendered, designated etc.
Those players should also be put on a special long term DL and not on the 40 man over the winter, so teams also wouldn’t have to free up 40 man spots by doing said dog act of non tendering a TJ player.
Eh, Sandoval’s biggest problem is he loses focus when things go against him. The dude unravels and dosent hide it. It’s still a bummer he’s gone, he’d make a good 3 if he could up his emotional control a bit
Lol only Angels fans know this about him. He’s an ace for 3 innings and then a harmless error turns into a 6 run parade. His metrics say he has some bad luck but I’d say he mentally can’t get through tough situations.
Sounds like Matz.
Doesn’t even have to be an error, the ump calling a perceived 3rd strike a ball and Sandy looses it.
Stay far away, Phillies!
He’s a perfect fit for sacramento
Mariners tried this pay for his TJ year and hope the 2nd year is worth it with Ken Giles. Remember him former closer figured why not? We got an excellent 4 1/3 innings for that 2 year deal.
It was a Cy young worthy 4 1/3 I’ll admit lol
I can see it. I think Sandoval is a decent mid rotation pitcher tbh.
@salzilla. He has the talent once he recovers. The problem is his temper, errors, and bad calls affect him. I think 2/22 Would be steep, especially since he might not pitch this year.
The gamble on Romano is enough. Not sure we need another longshot.
I hope my team is interested in Patrick Sandoval as much as I am interested in Hope Sandoval, though in a different way.
As alluded to by several commenters, Patrick has excellent stuff. He does not have the ability to absorb mistakes by his team, and he loses focus if the umpire squeezes him a little. He also tends to tease hitters when he is ahead in the count, 0-2, 1-2, thereby driving up his pitch count. A good sports psychologist or a coach Patrick would listen to would help him immensely—best of luck to Patrick.
von, I’ve never advocated blowing up and rebuilding the entire Phillies team. I just think the time has come to improve at a few positions if they want to compete for the NL east crown. The Phils need a centerfielder, left fielder and closer. They don’t need a single DH who cannot contribute defensively, and they will have to address their aging catcher situation sooner or later. I vote for sooner. So, the Phils can bring in Marchan and Painter, create a DH-by-committee, and add, through trades or free agency, a center fielder, left fielder and closer. The fix is really quite simple when you think about it. Schwarber and Realmuto have served admirably, but the time has come to move on from a scenario that hasn’t worked for the past 3 years and inject some new blood into the team.
They’re both gone next year. Problem solved.
von, Both Schwarber and Realmuto are still here for the 2025 season, and the Phils still haven’t materially improved their team. So, the problem won’t be solved for another season – a season in which pundits and fans will be trying to analyze the Phils and figure out ways to improve the team for the 2026 season. If I owned the Phillies, I wouldn’t settle for such a business model that procrastinated rather than immediately remedied their problems.
DD seems to be sitting on his hands so far. I don’t know if his plan is to wait out the problematic contracts and hope the prospects are ready to take their place and hope they get better results in the meantime or he’s just waiting to deal from the margins. Either way it probably doesn’t bode well for 2025.