10:20am: Sandoval will earn $5.5MM in 2025 and $12.75MMM in 2026, reports Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. Speier adds that the Sox are still open to additional rotation acquisitions.
9:55am: The Red Sox and lefty Patrick Sandoval are in agreement on a two-year deal worth a guaranteed $18.25MM, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The Wasserman client was non-tendered by the Angels last month and is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery, performed in June. He’ll miss at least the first half of the 2025 season, if not a bit more, but could be a late-season option in Boston and should be a member of their 2026 rotation.
Sandoval’s two-year guarantee makes the Angels’ decision to non-tender him and his $5.9MM projected salary (via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) look all the more dubious. Even if Sandoval had missed all of the 2025 season, he’d have been in line to merely repeat that $5.9MM salary — a total of $11.8MM. There’s no way he would’ve secured a nearly $6.5MM raise on that projected 2025 salary heading into the 2026 season.
The Angels presumably shopped Sandoval around prior to cutting him loose, and market circumstances have changed since that time. Still, recent two-year deals for Tommy John rehabbers on similar timelines (e.g. Tyler Mahle, German Marquez) show that there could eventually have been trade interest in the lefty, but the Halos instead opted for immediate salary flexibility. Perhaps that made it easier for them to sign Yusei Kikuchi on a three-year pact, but Sandoval’s deal with the Red Sox shows that he’d very likely have had at least modest trade value had the Halos tendered him a contract and continued to explore the market for his services.
Though his exact timetable for a return to a big league mound can’t be known this far along in the rehab process, Sandoval is a quality arm who’ll slot into the middle of the Boston rotation whenever he’s cleared. Just days prior to his injury, I took a look at the statistical similarities between Sandoval and another lefty — popular trade target Jesus Luzardo. Dating back to 2021, Sandoval carries a 3.80 ERA with roughly average strikeout numbers (22.6%) and somewhat heavy 10.2% walk rate.
Sandoval’s command isn’t great and never has been, but that number is skewed a bit by an 11.3% mark from 2023 that looks like a clear outlier. Sandoval posted a 9.3% walk rate in 2021, 2022 and 2024. It’s still not good, but it’s only about one percentage point north of league average. He sits 93-94 mph with his four-seamer and sinker alike, complementing those fastballs with a slider that misses bats and a changeup that helps him keep righties at bay. He does still carry a notable platoon split, but right-handed hitters haven’t exactly crushed him (.263/.344/.391) and lefties practically shouldn’t bother swinging (.195/.274/.324).
Sandoval isn’t a star but has proven himself to be a capable third or fourth starter, even in a contending rotation. He’ll obviously open the season on the injured list but will eventually give Boston another arm to join a starting mix that includes Garrett Crochet, Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Brayan Bello and, at some point, Lucas Giolito. Like Sandoval, Giolito is on the mend from UCL surgery, but his was performed last March so he should be back a few months sooner. Garrett Whitlock gives the Sox another potential rotation arm who’s on the mend from a Tommy John procedure, though he could factor into either the ’pen or the rotation.
The Red Sox could very well add another starting pitcher. They’ve been tied to Corbin Burnes on the free agent market and have also reportedly looked into the availability of Mariners righty Luis Castillo and Padres righty Dylan Cease. With several arms on the mend from surgery and a number of starters with only one full season of rotation experience under their belts (Crochet, Houck, Crawford, Bello), another arm feels prudent — even if it’s not a front-of-the-rotation type.
With Sandoval now in tow, RosterResource projects the Red Sox for a $155MM payroll and about $191MM worth of luxury tax obligations. They’re nowhere close to the $241MM tax threshold, thanks in no small part to going the trade route for their first impactful rotation addition of the winter (Crochet). That leaves ample opportunity for the Sox to bring in another arm and continue to poke around the markets for Alex Bregman, Teoscar Hernandez and other high-profile targets.
Seems like a lot of guaranteed money imo
I agree. I see the value in the move, it’s common enough for a guy coming off TJ, but that’s a lot of cash
@rennick. That’s alot for someone to be back after the all-star game. Not sure if he had alot of people interested. That’s what beiber signed for. He’s most likely only going to pitch a month. I can almost guarantee setbacks because it always happens with Tommy john. So it’s essentially 18 million for next year.
Plus Sandoval is streaky to begin with. Hopefully the change will do him good once he’s on the mound again.
murph – I’ve posted several times the past few weeks how the Red Sox love going after guys who are …..
1) Injured or returning from serious injury
2) Have horrible recent numbers
3) Are inexpensive
And once again, Sandoval checks all three boxes.
So as of right now the Sox have:
Houck
Crawford
Bello
Crochet
Sandoval (obviously missing most of 2025)
And what of Giolito? Will he start the season on the IL? Will he be a reliever/spot starter when he returns?
For depth there’s Criswell, Fitts, Priester (maybe)…
This will make the skeptics believe even more that there’s no big name SP free agents on the Red Sox radar right now.
Giolito would start in the rotation while Sandoval starts on the IL
Can – Giolito hasn’t pitched since 2023, hasn’t pitched well since 2021, and is questionable as to whether he will return from the IL for the start of next season. He’s a huge question mark.
Giolito has to be monitored as will Sandoval. I wouldn’t have guaranteed about $20m for the next two years. They apparently see him as a lefty Pivetta type for 26.
Can – Giolito had TJ surgery in mid March.
14 months which is a minimum for recovery would suggest no starts prior to mid May. If there are any set backs then it could be mid season.
Also, it takes about two months for the SP to regain his full control. He won’t be 100% effective until mid July if he is like most SPs who have TJ surgery.
If Sandoval starts on the IL so will Giolito so Crochet, Houck, Crawford and Bello are the top of the starting rotation as of today with a bunch of question marks filling out the 5th spot.
This is Breslow wasting small money with another risky pitcher like Giolito. Best case, both will be able to pitch after the all-star break. Giolito might be ready but not fully effective as early as June.
We still need a SP but now have $10Million less so about $80 Million remains under the CAP. What a great way to reduce the chances of getting an all-star pitcher without officially announcing it to the fans!!!! Those owners, they know how to deceive the fans. Full Throttle!!! Couldn’t help myself.
Gioliti didn’t have tommy John surgery. He had an internal brace operation which has a faster recovery time
Giolito under went an internal brace procedure same as Whitlock the recovery time is significantly less then a full TJ surgery. It’s not unrealistic to think that Gio could be available at the start of the season or very early same as Whitlock.
I think this signing is more proof that Breslow and Bloom were handicapped by ownership. I believe there is no way that ownership is going to green light an 8 year Burnes contract. If Burnes is willing to accept a high asset value 3 year contract with opt outs that’s the only way I see this happening. It’s a damn shame because this team with a healthy Crochet and Burnes fronting that rotation makes this team dangerous. I just don’t see it happening though. My guess they sign Buehler and another bullpen arm hopefully Scott.
Bruin – I wouldn’t mind Yates.
Sag – Gio didn’t have TJS.
He had internal brace which is less invasive with a faster recovery time.
@Fever – What do you think about this:
Houston sends Ryan Pressly & $5M to Boston
Boston sends Wilyer Abreu back to Houston
Boston would then have Pressly, Hendriks & Chapman to deploy in innings 7-9, not to mention Whitlock too if he’s not forced into a starting role. They would have a rock-solid bullpen.
I really like Abreu, but they need to get rid of some LHHs (Yoshida is next) and I feel like we saw the maximum offensive output from Abreu last season. They would miss his defense for sure, but it would open up space to sign Teoscar and eventually Campbell if they decide he’s best off in the OF vs. 2B.
They should just sign Tommy John himself . It’s like every pitcher they sign is injured. What is the narrative? One of these times we will catch lightning in a bottle!
Wilyer way too much for Pressley, who has had a good run but lost a lot stuff wise last year. I like Fever’s Yates idea. And save Abreu for a starter if need be. I’m not convinced they are out on Burnes.
This guy is a depth move so we don’t end up trading for garbage at the deadline again. You act like he’s the guy they expect to start day one.
Tang – How does yet another “depth move” help the Sox in the first half of 2025? Some people thought the team finally wanted to make the playoffs next year.
If they are building a rotation for 2026, fine …. but then that decreases the chances of them signing a quality SP to a multi-year deal. You gotta look at the big picture here.
First, if you think they are going to sign a big contract, you are probably mistaken anyway. Second, they don’t organize their moves in order of preference. You take them as they come together. Most of the bigger free agents aren’t willing to sign right now because they are waiting on someone else to set the market.
Whats wrong with the depth you have Criswell, Fitts, Crawford, Insert Name Here…..
Lets call it what it is, this is a sedative for the fans and nothing else.
“We were in on Soto, Burnes, Fried, Bregman. But, we’re excited about Sandoval in 2026.”
I’m furious right now. You’ve wasted $19mm dollars this season on Sandoval and Chapman.
I dont mind the Chapman signing, but in totality its looking worse, because now its going to be your SECOND best move instead of your Fifth best move.
It’s fricken December. Calm down
The one thing I will say is Sandoval has been an interesting pitcher as recently as 2022, which is better than Giolito can say. Even last year his FIP and strikeout numbers paint the picture of a guy who was a bit better than the ERA and WHIP would indicate.
I don’t hate gambling on him. But that’s the key. This better just be a gamble. If this is the other “big move” then I’ll be pretty PO’ed because this in no way “raises the ceiling” as we’ve been promised. But if he can pitch to his 2022 or 2023 level upon return, it’s fair to say he does raise the floor compared to most of our usual deadline pickup/injury fill in trash we’ve been wasting our time with the last few seasons.
Tang – Most of us feel it’s unlikely the Sox sign Burnes, but what about C-level pitchers such as Flaherty/Walker/Manaea?
The Red Sox have insisted they aren’t done improving the rotation, it’s not like people here took it upon themselves to guess the Sox would still acquire another quality SP.
Dirty – Wouldn’t you agree it will be virtually impossible to find another quality SP now that is willing to accept just a 1-year contract.
If they do sign another quality SP, it will be a multi-year contract which means who goes after next year? Bello? Crawford? Houck?
@Fever – I think Walker Buehler has a chance to be a quality SP this season and he is certainly open to sign a 1 year deal to reset his market in 2026.
Is it the most efficient allocation of resources? Absolutely not. Definitely not going to try and make that argument. But I would argue given the experience in recent seasons – we need to expect somebody’s going to get tired and somebody’s going to get hurt. That’s not a unique problem to the Red Sox, it’s true for most teams, but the Red Sox have not been preparing for or addressing that issue when it arises like a serious team in recent years.
If I’m Corbin Burnes or Walker Buehler, a signing like this is not going to bother me. I’m not getting brought in on a mega-deal to compete for starts with Patrick Sandoval. So if Henry is actually willing to open the wallet this winter as we’ve been promised, I don’t see why this should preclude any high end free agent starters from wanting to come. Mid tier options, maybe. But we have enough of them already that adding any more mid tier guys is not “raising the ceiling”, so if that’s really the goal then this shouldn’t impact anything is my thinking.
Going back to preparing quality rotation depth in advance, if the 2026 rotation looks something like Burnes/Buehler, Crochet, Houck, Crawford, and Bello, with a healthy Sandoval and Fitts the 6th and 7th guys in line to start while staying stretched out in multi inning/long relief roles, I would 10000% welcome that plan over the way they’ve preferred to go about it recently which has been to go into each season with zero depth beyond the starting 5 and then when injuries or the malaise of the dog days of August kick in having to panic and cycle through a ton of crap like Paxton, Hill, Keller, Kluber, Ort, etc.
Dottie – You’re right, I shouldn’t have grouped him with the others. He’s another guy returning from injury who hasn’t been healthy or pitched well since 2021 so he would definitely accept a 1-year deal.
He could be another high-risk gamble the Red Sox take.
Dirty – i agree. Even if you completely disregard the injury, rehab and money, what you’re left with is an inconsistent SP who will be 30yo with no reason to believe he can find the secret sauce post-TJ.
I know someone here will say “that is what you got in Crochet”. But, he’s 25.
‘Tang It: Yes, it’s December 20th and signing Sandoval is about 2026 and doesn’t preclude them from making moves for 2025. Looks like Breslow will make one of these deals every year- we have Fulmer last year and Sandoval this year so far.
Those guys aren’t coming off the board until Burnes signs and possibly not until Castillo gets traded
Tang it – Does this team have a tendency to back load our star players after the first of the year? NOPE.
It’s never too early to worry when it comes to the crap job the front office does on filling needs. Expect more dumpster diving. YEP we are bringing out the new and improved way Breslow dumpster dives compared to Bloom.
Bloom could take a star player making good money like Mookie and divide his $27Million into 6 to 8 crap players yet spend the money and lower the average talent on the team.
Breslow takes that same money and gets two high risk guys that were good several years ago and watching them go on the IL and not contribute at all BUT they were cheap so that is ok EXCEPT when you add up the total money spent on the guys not playing it equals Mookie’s pay!!!!
Two brilliant GMs perfecting the concept of pissing away payroll. We can try to blame ownership for this but I think it’s fair that they are simply contributors. These two philosophies are their own concoctions as completely inexperienced GMs. If this seems familiar, think about another completely inexperienced moron who manages the team. ONLY CORA marks off-days on a calendar and sticks to it because Hinch taught him to. A real manager reads the body language of the star player and sits him when needed not based on a calendar that doesn’t change based on rain out, schedule changes or mental and physical health.
If you count Cora, Bloom and Breslow we have had a trifecta of inexperience and bad decision making. Their contracts as front office personnel hurt us just as much as Devers, Story and Yoshida not to mention Giolito and Sandoval.
Wait for the scraps to save a few bucks, instead of striking out to get a player you want? The Sox are a team that need to overpay FA’s now, so why wait?
It didnt stop them from throwing $95mm at Yoshida two offseasons ago
Dirty – If we did what needed to be done in the off season then Breslow’s gambling would be tolerable as a risky waste of money BUT that didn’t happen.
1 – No Devers to DH
2 – No two stud all-star pitchers just one iffy guy that has only 1 year of experience as a starter.
3 – No 3B to replace Devers
4 – A lefty reliever (Chapman) but it could have been Scott
5 – Trade or dump some payroll for 2026 with Story, Yoshida
Without these things getting completed, the Sandoval move simply should anger fans because it’s only impact is to lessen available money for the stars that are needed.
Fever Pitch Guy = So Breslow’s legacy is low cost hopefuls that eat up the payroll similar to the dumpster dives of the Bloom era. No PROVEN studs just guys who had good years in the past or in Crochet’s case, ONE GOOD YEAR period!!
I’m thinking back over the last 100 years of baseball and I don’t remember anyone else adopting such a unique philosophy for becoming an elite team.
Seems to me, the latest approach to improving isn’t like Bloom’s buy 100 guys that all play every position, it’s buy 30 guys with recent injuries and wait til they come back but only contract them until they prove their worth and are able to get a real contract from another team like the Yankees or Dodgers. Interesting approach Cotton!!! hahahaha
Sad Soc 3 – BUT wait you left off the best part!!!!
The contract with Breslow gives the pitcher enough time to come back and be great as an option and then he can make a ton more money with a club that will actually pay over $20Million AAV. So we are like the farm system for repairing injured or under performing players and sending them off to better teams that pay real salaries.
I wonder where in this brilliant philosophy they figure winning will be important? When the risky guy finally gets good and is a free agent going to one of our competitors?
Seems like a .500 philosophy to me.
Very well said. If it ever works, we will be the farm team.
I dunno about that last part. Sandoval doesn’t figure to be any safe bet to start in 2025, meaning he’ll maybe be able to help as a left-hander out of the bullpen later in the year while being capable of filling in starts as needed. And he hasn’t been remotely good enough to be worth penciling in a rotation spot in 2026 – feels like he’ll have to compete and earn that.
This feels a lot like how the Dodgers approach their rotation, overpaying for single years and pursing similar type ways to accumulate around 8 rotation arms, many of whom won’t be counted on (and can’t be counted on) but together should be able to cover the course of a full regular season.
I’ve felt for some time that Boston wants to pursue a Dodger-type approach, excepting that they had to build up the system talent before they could do that. This seems to fit that mold. In which case, it doesn’t change the 2025 rotation and doesn’t close out the ability (need?) for a reliable guy over multiple years that a name SP FA would represent.
One thing we as fans often overlook is that teams need to cover both whether they do lock down a FA signing or whether they don’t. Boston could be sincerely pursuing one or more notables out there, but it can’t operate as those are givens. Breslow might also specifically feel Sandoval can be coached up to another level and/or be an effective swing man and/or maybe could even be a very good multi-inning bullpen arm, so maybe this is also a target for a different role entirely.
All of which is to say that I *absolutely* do not dismiss that the franchise might already be out on any other notable SPs – I just don’t see this closing the door any more than it felt prior to the move.
No one is expecting a “big” free agent signing anymore this offseason. However, this is a team in need of talent upgrades at SP, 2B. LF ,DH. Making a depth move here for 2026, at which point he’ll be turning 30yo is ridiculous.. For a nominal amount more (aav) you could probably sign Andrew Heaney, who could start in March.
Attaching the Dodgers (name) to this “strategy” is ridiculous. The Dodgers Strategy to me, seems to be, sign and trade for immeasurable talent (Glasnow, Snell and Yammamoto), and supplement that with a never ending pipeline of young mlb caliber arms (Gonsolin, May, Miller, Sheehan and Stone). That doesnt sound at all like what the Red Sox have done with Paxton, Giolito and Sandoval
redsox – The big difference between the Dodgers approach and the Red Sox approach is they’ve acquired SP who are currently healthy (Ohtani doesn’t count) and coming off great numbers.
Glasnow, Snell, Flaherty were all healthy and putting up great numbers.
Paxton, Giolito, Hendriks, Sandoval were all injured and coming off bad seasons.
Giolito was not injured when they signed him. Glasnow was an injury waiting to happen. They paid big bucks to extend him and the injury happened.
Wow what an overpay for a jobber.
He should’ve gone to Tampa or Milwaukee to get fixed in the pitching lab.
Milwaukee doesn’t have this kind of money to spend on guys who aren’t ready to give them a full season of quality production, unfortunately.
Who resigned woodruff?
They are a team with limited financial resources, the fact that they already gave close to $18 M last winter for one of these types of deals, combined with the fact that they just had to basically salary dump one of the best closers in baseball would suggest that they have even less money to tie up in a rehab project than they normally would.
Not to mention, Woodruff practically pitched at an ace level for them when healthy. Sandoval has not proven to be anything more than a probable mid-rotation starter.
@dirtywater04. Sandoval will be a reliever if he can return without set backs. He definitely doesn’t have the mental makeup for that. He gets in his head if he’s not getting calls or errors happen and that’s when the wheels fall off. The prices for pitching are definitely high this year, but that seems steep for Sandoval. When you could probably get lorenzen for 12.
I haven’t watched him much at all to know about him being a headcase but that’s a bad sign if he needs everything to be going his way to stay calm and pitch effectively. With the Red Sox defense the way it’s been in recent years you can pretty much guarantee it will not be smooth enough sailing to keep him from melting down, then.
@dirtywater04. I’m a angels fan. He definitely has ace potential. Not sure he needs much fixing on that level. But he’s definitely a headcase. I don’t think it’s bleeds into being a bad teammate/clubhouse cancer. But he definitely yells in his glove alot, and it unravels. Just thinking he could come out the pen if he’s ready, and I’m not sure if i would want him coming in with bases loaded.
Pretty big commitment to a mid to back end starting pitcher with ZERO certainty when and how well he will recover…
Jersey – That’s been the Red Sox M.O. for the past 5 years, high risk commitment with the hope the Sox can save a few bucks in the future. In their minds they are the smartest person in the room, and continue to prove they re delusional.
It hasn’t been working for the Sox, talk about definition of insanity …
FPG – Smartest Yale Graduate in Baseball Syndrome strikes again!!!!!
Sad – True! But I am really starting to believe Breslow’s hands are somewhat tied.
FPG – his hands are 100% tied.
But, here’s the problem i have with that. Trade aside, Ownership has approved three free agent signings for approx $20mm. I dont see this as the best allocation of that money. If they indeed said, “craig go out there and use about $20mm”, is this the best he could come back with? If it is, I have to start to think about Breslow’s acumen.
sad – Actually they spent $31M on the 3 free agents ($10.75M Chapman, $18.25M Sandoval, $2.25M Wilson). but I totally agree much of it seems like a potential waste.
My understanding is Breslow, with just one year of HOBO experience, doesn’t have a lot of say in these decisions. He doesn’t have the power that guys like Larry & Dave did. Obviously no way to prove it, but if Kennedy/O’Halloran/Cora/Romero/Henry are influencing Breslow to make these moves then it’s hard for me to put all the blame on Breslow.
The one constant since 2019 has been Kennedy/O’Halloran/Cora/Romero/Henry. I really think they need to blow up the front office and surround Breslow with better minds.
Fever Pitch Guy – My take on this puzzle of how to get good players is that ownership built a box to work within and Bloom and Breslow dealt with the box differently. Dombrowski dictated the framework and when the owners wanted to change to this new philosophy, they had to fire Dombrowski because he would never agree to it because you can’t win with it.
Bloom will always be the dumpster diver.
Breslow will always be the gambler.
Both waste enormous amounts of money compared to contracting blue chip players but small chunks of money seem to please ownership even if they are ineffective choices. Thus, mediocrity will exist until something changes.
The sad part is Breslow is really bad at figuring out who is a pretender in the farm system and who is a future star. He’s already dumped 3 future stars so other than Campbell and Anthony he has mostly pretenders who will eventually be DFA’d. That really set back the organization after building a brighter future. Lets hope they don’t shed more future stars like Duran, Casas or Houck. I have absolutely no confidence Breslow belongs as a GM based on his decisions to date.
More wasted money on a recovering pitcher hoping he can regain form.
Why sign top tier FA when you can waste money on guys like this? Did they not learn from Paxton? Jesus Christ.
Beyond the basic risk/reward answer, I wonder how these contracts effect calculations the payroll and luxury tax. If he’s not on the 40 man roster in 2025 his pay will not be counted towards the luxury tax, so does it give him an average of $9+ million vs $12+ million AAV in 2025? Is it essentially a manipulation of the CBA?
Plus can they collect any type of insurance on player contracts even though they knowingly signed an injured player? Is it some type of write off if you have to pay someone who cannot work?
Red Sox love making these deals. I like Sando fwiw.
And is there an example of these working? I can’t think of one, but I’m sure there is an example.
Michael Pineda with the Twins.
Not a major one I can think of, but clearly the Red Sox will be damned before they stop trying. And of course one of these years one of them is going to randomly work out well and they’ll point to that one case as being proof that it was a good and worthwhile to try it 17 times.
Miller, Pomeranz, Moyer, Hill, heck even Breslow.
There is a ton of money to be made if you’ve ever been in the big leagues and your official position was “pitcher”.
Wow. That’s. just… a TON of money for an empty uniform.
Don’t forget “and if you throw with your left arm”!!!
This can’t be any worse than the other Sandoval signing.
Literally true, Pablo Sandoval was a negative WAR player for them at a major salary and many years guaranteed money. That truly was about as bad as a signing gets. The only way this could be worse is if he goes crazy and robs teammates or hurts them with violence or something, haha.
Great move Red Sox, congrats…….
The panda is back!!!!!!!!!!
Wait….
I see that Breslow is climbing back into the dumpster and picking up and guaranteeing money to injured players. Can Breslow spend on players who are decent and not dumpster discount players. Although he threw a lot of money at this guy. Did we not learn from Paxton already. So now we see that the 700 million for Soto was all BS for eye wash for the fans.
I’ve said all along that
1. Just because they offered Soto 700MM doesn’t mean they will spend that same AAV across other guys for those years.
2. The offer was likely a facade, it gives the impression that they tried without actually paying someone.
Joe – you’re making great points. I totally agree.
Spending $20mm this year on Wilson, Chapman and Sandoval.
Sounds like just enough to prevent a grievance from MLBPA and not an actual team building exercise. What the heck is happening?
No one is offering $700m in the hopes that the person turn it down….. John Henry has said it himself that he doesn’t like the idea of giving massive contracts to pitchers in their 30’s. Then he goes out and signs david price to the biggest contract (at the time) to a starting pitcher in his 30’s. Now, tell me how did that work out for him?
Aggee – when there’s other bidders driving up the price, the offer is more of a “hey look we tried and missed our” than an actual attempt to sign the player. We have seen this time and time again with the Sox front office. It has gotten quite old. They should just say they’re not in on players instead of giving people hope and then these offers come out which are so far for what the player actually got.
And yes, they have had some bad luck. But the alternative to not spending on pitchers while your CBO ignores pitching prospects is having a horrible rotation for years, or being forced to significantly overpay for a reliever turned starter with health issues.
If the Sox were up against the luxury tax, I get it. But they have so much room to operate and signing a guy like Fried, Burnes, Snell, etc gives an impression that you’re actually trying to improve the rotation for this year. The Sox make money like few other franchise do, and they refuse to actually reinvest it in the team.
Invest in Fried? Nope. Here’s another rehabbing pitcher, maybe he will return to his 5ERA self in 2026.
The Red Sox’s David Price days are long over. The exact reason tehy offered $700mm is because they knew it would be turned down. They were willing pawns in Boras’ game, thinking that they were driving up the price for the Yankees.
Bahahahaha!!! Again, no one is offering $700 in anticipation of them saying no. If he would’ve accepted it then what? Like I said, John Henry stated that he has no interest in signing a 30 yr old pitcher to a long term contract ( i agree). They got crochet and y’all are still complaining that they didnt improve the rotation. It’s as if your complaining just to complain….
David price is a perfect example of why you don’t give long term contracts to SP in their 30’s…. The rest of your comment is feelings. Nothing i can do for that….
Aggee – not complaining at all. I love the Crochet trade, as a matter of fact, i want them to extend him.
The anger comes from the ignoring of glaring holes in the team and going out to make this move. Or, jumping out and signing Justin Wilson. Its moves like this that perpetuate the lies this fan base is being fed, year after year.
Crochet? They did get him, and he does represent an improvement over pitchers in the rotation but he has not shown that he can be healthy and effective over 30+ starts in a season.
Crochet is a MASSIVE injury risk. He was horrible in the second half of the season. Could he be great all next season? Sure! But besides blind faith, why would you think that?
I’m complaining because they need to improve the rotation in 2025, they talk about “raising the ceiling” and they do so by trading a massive haul for a very high risk (but very high reward) guy and another rehab project.
We have seen year after year how important pitching is. The Sox are leaving in that department, both at the major league and minor league level. They have made steps to improve the minors, but still lack that top end talent down there. The major league team could easily be fixed by throwing money at it. The Red Sox will get massive surplus value from their young position players. Theres no excuse for not signing a top tier arm when you have the money the Sox do and the positional need like the Sox do.
The general consensus was the Sox needed two top tier arms to fix the rotation. They got one, even if I don’t love the move. Now they need another, and not another “let’s hope he can stay healthy and pitch like one year he was really good and not the rest of his career” guy.
And yes, not every contract works out. But there are examples of guys that in fact do work out such as Verlander, scherzer, Randy Johnson, etc.
One bad contract shouldn’t scare them from fixing their biggest roster hole.
No because Crochet has a high probability of being a bust. Crochet is the type of risk you take when you already have 2 good front of the rotation arms. Instead they are hoping a injury prone pitcher with no track record can be your ace. Seriously what are we doing here. I checked out on the Sox last season and I doubt I will pay attention if this is the headline move. At least sign Burnes, they have the cap space and don’t tell me they can’t beat out the Giants or Blue Jays. I used to defend Henry but those days are over. He doesn’t care about the Sox and Breslow sucks. Breslow is only hea, because 15 other people didn’t want the job
aggee10 – Wow talk about an uninformed opinion.
The $700 Million was a low ball. That was obvious in light of one GM stating that he would bid $65Million more no matter what. That’s so obvious even you should be able to understand that it was meaningless. For those that better understand the inner workings of the front office, it was a political bid not a practical bid. Boston wants to stay tight with the Dominican Republic Baseball Academy and the DR people. That’s why Devers got paid twice his worth and is allowed to play like crap on defense. This was a bid for a Dominican player that wasn’t going to win the bid but the magnanimous gesture was perfect in showing how serious Boston is at supporting the Dominican Republic players.
It was nothing more than a political win and there was absolutely no expectation that it would be chosen.
Crochet has ONE YEAR of experience as a SP. It was a poorly constructed high risk move because 3 star prospects were lost in the trade. Had they thrown in guys like Mayer who is more hype than performance, his rating would have lowered the number of players and left Boston far better off than they are now in the farm system.
Complain when a job is poorly executed is no different than being upset when a player botches a play. The fan has the right to their opinion and their dissatisfaction with the performance of the ball player, front office personnel or owners.
I read ahead to your next inane comment about Price. You are so clueless about baseball you should study the game for say a decade and then come back here and comment.
Price got a perfectly fine contract. Age had nothing to do with the issues he faced but you would know that if you actually followed Boston baseball. He was fine with Farrell but when the numbskull Cora because manager he impacted the entire pitching staff because he was a flunky bench infielder as a player and knew nothing about managing. The number of great pitchers who failed under Cora is ridiculous because he still has a job as the owners chose to distract their racism by hiring a completely inept minority and claiming diversity.
Price, Sale, Porcello and even some of the formerly great pitchers like Kluber and others all failed under Cora. Age can’t be the answer because Sale is older than he was with the Red Sox and he just won a Cy Young conclusively proving that it wasn’t age it was the dbag CORA.
Dombrowski signed a guy who had better credentials than nearly every SP in baseball when he signed Price. Then he did the same with Sale and he got him at a very, very friendly price well below market value.
Signing a 6 year deal whether it’s with a 25 year old or a 30 year old is always going to be risky but it’s a necessity to bringing talent to a ball club. Your BS about age is just that a bunch of BS. It’s a cliche rather than a fact based comment.
Joemo
He was horrible in the second half of the season.
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It’s in the eye of the beholder. In his last 8 starts, he was virtually unhittable. He has a 42/3 K/W in his final 25.1 IPs.
they are hoping a injury prone pitcher with no track record can be your ace.
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Does his 4.1 bWAR last year not count as a track record?
Bingo. You can “offer” him $700 million all you want when you know he’s not taking it. Just another typical offseason for the post-Dombrowski Red Sox.
DD actually tried to win. Since then, they have been more focused on giving off the appearance of trying to win, than actually improving the team.
I like how the addition to the article mentions they are still looking for rotation upgrades. Duh, because they need some this year and AT BEST Sandoval is a next year solution.
Yes, nothing has changed. The Red Sox are still looking to upgrade this year’s rotation and Sandoval is about next year…but you are ANGRY. LOL!
Wouldn’t say I’m angry at all. I will be, if this proves to be the second biggest move of our offseason, but for now I’m continuing to hold out hope that it won’t be. I’m fine with taking this gamble, as long as the FO is in agreement that this is merely a gamble and not what “raising the ceiling” looks like.
DW04: Agreed and you didn’t sound angry. I was replying to Joemo. I think there are more moves coming. I am happy that Breslow seems to be taking a methodical approach. I think he is refusing to make deals he thinks are bad for the Red Sox.
All – Remember how you like to focus on money. The money invested on a guy like Sandoval takes away from the available money to get a blue chip SP. Do the same deal AFTER we sign a Burnes or Burnes equivalent, nobody complains. Sign him before we have a rotation, Breslow deserves to be roasted for this move.
Al – Add Giolito to the list because they should have known he wasn’t right when they signed him. They continue to sign players coming off bad seasons, which is a ridiculous approach for a Top 4 Revenue team.
Mondesi was a complete waste of money, let’s see if at least Hendriks works out.
Fever Pitch Guy = I can’t guarantee it but I believe Hendriks will be one of the pleasant surprises of 2025.
I think he’s so resilient that he can overcome almost anything.
His 2019 to 2022 numbers reflect the type of closer we need. If anyone worries me, it’s Chapman. I watched him with Texas and had throwback thoughts to Mitch Williams and Don Zimmer wiping his head throughtout the 9th inning as Williams walked the based loaded and then struck out the sides.
I’m not inspired by this move, but if anything the BS seems like it’s coming from your direction. Learn what from Paxton? Paxton wasn’t just a TJS signing; he also had a long history of injuries, which Boston knew and accepted. He wasn’t able to return late in 2022 (on the 1.5 year recovery timetable) because of a LAT injury, and then he exercised a cheap player option that Boston was perfectly happy to have him under. Once he suited up for Boston (after his 2023 debut was delayed by a hamstring injury), he gave a 3.34 ERA over 16 starts, and then the final numbers were skewed by his final three appearances…easy to figure that the knee inflammation that shut him down might have been the cause of that.
So they got an excellent full half season from him (including AL Pitcher of the Month for June) essentially for $14M before this third unrelated-to-TJS injury in a Boston uniform threw off three starts. Could have been a smashing success, but still passed muster at least. Sandoval hasn’t been injury free (obviously), but he’s quite different from Paxton, in many ways.
As for Soto, Boston would have signed him if the number hadn’t exploded into the stratosphere, so there’s no BS there. 2 of the 3 teams with the most ability to overpay for a guy were max all-in on him, and Boston did nothing wrong by not being able to match them to the end.
Just because they were willing to pay HUGE for a guy they have ultra confidence in doesn’t mean they should just throw that money at whomever else. Never spend for the sake of spending – that’s what gets you the Crawfords and Sandovals and Lackeys of the world. Spend on the guys you really believe are worth the investment.
Red Sox – wait your telling me that James Paxton, the guy who is perpetually hurt, got hurt? I am shocked. The Red Sox paid what 28MM (too lazy to actually look) for a guy who lives on the IL to pitch a few good months? Wow such value there!
Instead of spending this money on the Paxtons and Sandovals of the world, they could spend it on guys who have a track record of being healthy and performing like actual top of the rotation arms.
And you’re right, the Sox would have signed Soto if they had the highest bid! Unfortunately with your Cohen, dodgers owners (Guggenheim Partners), and even Cashman, the Sox will never be that top bid for a top tier FA.
soxu – Paxton had 10 good starts thru July 8, after that he had 9 bad starts with a 6.98 ERA.
If you really think $14M for 10 good starts was a great investment, sorry there’s no point in discussing further.
Have the Red Sox considered signing guys who are possibly ready to pitch when pitchers and catchers report instead of waiting 8-15 months for surgery rehab to finish?
I CAN’T, i cant
C’mon. I argued against this last week when they were tied to John Means. STOP signing pitchers who cant pitch for you. Stop signing pitchers who arent better than Crawford or Criswell or Fitts or any other depth starter you have…..STOP!!!!!
Sad – just when you thought the Sox were done scrapping the bottom of the barrel, they find a new way!
Why invest money in actual top tier SP when they can pay guys to rehab from TJ and then play part of the next season with mediocre output.
Didn’t Breslow say he’s trying to raise the ceiling of the rotation? Not sure what this move accomplished.
Joe – AGREED! I so hate this maneuver, paying for a rehab. One day, ooooone day, this may work and the Starter may actually pitch well. And what do you get? He’ll walk away for a tne more money somewhere else.
I dont love the idea of 8yr contracts for SP’s, but this is equally dumb on the other end of the pendulum swing.
Sad – I actually forgot about their interest in Means, and let’s not forget the possibility of Fulmer coming to a Red Sox rotation near you.
They are still trying to mirror the Rays, it’s unreal.
There is no reason to not add guys for the 2026 team. I assume that there will be a 2026 season.
AGREED these are guys you sign AFTER you sign the BIG boys. This is a late Januay sign. CONCENTRATE on BIG tickets available NOW!
Well, he was a pretty decent pitcher back in 2022. Which in today’s market gets you $18,250,000 guaranteed.
Compared to what Woodruff got on his w year deal while recovering it’s kinda in line and fair price
i actually like Sandoval but for a guy who they MAY get 1 month out of, this essentially amounts to maybe a $15m deal for 2026. it’s way too much for a guy still recovering for me TJ.
The Red Sox need to make a splash here. This is a mediocre pickup at best. All of the talk about being aggressive in the offseason and so far the Crochet trade is it. Time to sign a bat…Bregman would be a great pickup. And more pitching is needed. The Yankees are dusting us. Let’s goooo!
Come on Sam Kennedy….
Could have done the same with John Means for way less money. But also less of a sure thing I guess.
Yeah, I don’t understand the size of the number here. Was Sandoval’s agent holding some kind of negotiating high ground or beating off suitors with a stick while waiting for someone to offer “real money”? At his projected market value if healthy (2 years, around $11M or so annually) this is like locking in 1.5 seasons from him.
Ah c’mon. This signing can’t be that bad…
*checks baseball savant*
oh…
Guy who throws 96/97MPH with an above average changeup. $9M a year is nothing. Might hurt teams like Oakland and Pittsburgh, but $9M is nothing for Boston. Smart move, I can see the Yale degree is paying off for Breslow
Feel like that’s a big guarantee for another rehab project, but I have to admit I do like this one better than Giolito.
I am totally fine buying a lottery ticket on this guy’s health, but I also hope it doesn’t preclude a bigger, more of a “sure thing” type of addition.
Houck, Crochet, Crawford, Bello – great start for the rotation. Add another “serious” arm and we’re cooking. If Sandoval and/or Giolito are able to contribute anything, all the better. Though I’d feel a lot better about it if they’re put in positions where any value from them is gravy, not something we are built to depend on.
Lots of comments poo-pooing the Red Sox for paying so much. Where are all the comments questioning the Angels incompetence? If this guy is worth $18m on the open market they could have gotten at least $10m in prospect value by trading him.
The hate for the Red Sox FO is warranted, and also brought on by themselves because they’re always making us big promises about “raising the ceiling” and going “full throttle” and all that before whiffing on every potential acquisition that would actually drastically improve the team and telling us how great they actually feel about the guys they already had.
The hate for the Angels FO is also warranted, but also I think pretty well documented? These guys wasted the career of Mike Trout and the first half dozen years of Shohei Ohtani, an absolute joke of a franchise. They’re where you go when you want that last big contract but you’re ready to start phoning it in for your career instead of playing up to the expectation you’re getting paid for. Basically MLB’s pre-retirement club. I feel bad for their fans.
Wade – I do agree with your points.
But maybe he’s not worth 18MM to other teams and the Red Sox just love paying people to rehab with them.
I don’t mind signing a guy coming off of an injury to a multi year deal but i do not understand why the paid such a steep price. Who were they bidding against that they thought they had to go that high?
Baked into the calculus is the assumption that he delivers a full, healthy season for 2026.
At $8 million per WAR which is often quoted as the value of 1 WAR, and assuming he’s a 2-3 WAR pitcher when back on the mound (an aggressive assumption because I think he’s done this exactly once), they’re not actually paying him much of a premium at all.
They think his value will be about $16-$17 million in 2026, and if they can get about a month’s worth of that type of production out of him in 2025 that would be worth about $2.5 million.
I agree that I think it’s an overpay, but that’s because I think it’s overly aggressive to assume he is going to be that good/reliable. For one, being a guy who has been more of a pitch to soft contact type than a big strikeout guy, I worry about how that will look with Boston’s atrocious defense. The other big thing, is guys coming off a major injury should be signed for somewhat of a discount to market rate, which they didn’t manage to get.
But if they are comfortable enough with something they see in him to think he’s going to pitch well in Boston, they’re not really paying a premium for his expected value. They just messed up by giving him a market rate deal when he’s in no position to command one.
Totally agree. Waste of money when SO MANY better ways to spend that money.
Plus our last Sandoval was also a disaster. Albeit a different position but still.
Time to find out how good Bailey’s pitching lab is.
Red Sox just spent more on a depth or 2026 piece than the mariners will spend all offseason lmao
“Market circumstances have changed since that time.”
This is MLBTR talk for “pitchers are getting such crazy contracts right now that who cares about ten million here or ten million there?”
I wonder what the total WAR of every one of these contracts over the last 15 years for pitchers looking to rebound vs the WAR of spending on a Burnes, Cole or other Stud pitcher.
even if healthy, not a game changer.
They have like 60 mil before they cross the tax line. Just used up 9 mil on a pitcher who is 19-45 life time and who had TJS and won’t be available until late next if not until 2026. Sox have pressing needs and this is how they go about filling them
’67 – thank you for being so calm and expressing my thoughts so coherently. This fills exactly ZERO needs.
Sox doing all they can to finish last. ; )
The Red Sox are like Wile E. Coyote. They just never learn, no matter how many things blow up in their face……
You guys complain when we don’t have pitching, complain when we sign pitchers… baseball is fun relax !!
Still lots of moves to be made. Have some trust in Craig !!
I mean, there’s maybe potential here…but come on. Enough with the rehabbing pitcher signings….”Red Sox signed pitcher X to a 2 year deal, but he’s only gonna be active and available for the final 2 months of that deal”. Hendricks, Fulmer, now Sandoval…there’s a bunch I didn’t list too, just at work and don’t have time to look them up lol. You got Crochet, signaling intent to contend, then backtrack with another “value” signing here… lets go, get aggressive and get Burnes, a couple decent bullpen arms; and either Bregman or Arenado. Find a taker for Yoshida, move Devers to DH….done deal.
Why wait for them to get hurt. Acquire them in post-op.
Wow…18 million for maybe a year plus…Christmas came early for Sandoval
Amoritze it over eight days of Hanukkah (or even 16 since it’s a two year deal). It hurts less…….
the big con is on. Henry holds the key to the bank, and he is not spending. so far, he has spent 21 million on junk. That money would have paid a chunk of Burns salary.
Back when I worked at Mass General I used to see a guy who looked a lot like Sam Kennedy walking around the orthopedic surgery center with a giant checkbook. Seems nothing’s changed…
If they think Sandoval is their final answer to this rotation they really screwed up. This should be a 2nd half depth hopeful and nothing more.
They are either WAY to confident they understand the market or the Crochet deal was the ONLY big move and they will beat that into the ground.
Obviously they signed Sandoval for 2025. He’s this years Paxton/Hendriks
Bunch of us just went to check our FA predictions list, only to realize Sandoval wasn’t in the top 50.
He looks good for a start or two then gets shelled his next three.
great move for 2026, and if he pitches well you QO him and net a pick. Precisely the type of stuff you wanna see if you expect to start picking in the back of the first round.
I know it’s the off season and all, but Boston’s moves compared w NYY just make them look pathetic.
But… here’s to a successful rehab Mr Sandoval. Welcome to Boston sir.
Swan – forget that they’re our hated division rivals to the south, but they identified their needs, created a plan and executed it. I’m jealous. And, it does make us look pathetic because there is no reason whatsoever that the Sox couldn’t have made all of those moves. Theyre not just outspending everyone.
The Sox were profitable to the tune of $350mm last year (estimated numbers), and were $70mm under the tax. The best you could do is Wilson, Chapman and Sandoval? I’m sorry this isnt team building, and, it is dumpster diving, it just is.
The new pitching program that Breslow put in is supposed to make the pitchers better.Houck got better,Same with some others.People are basing these moves on what they did.If the program works then these guys will be better than they were.Either you believe in the program or only sign potential 20 game winners ,who won’t get hurt, and can throw 6 -7 innings a start.
TB – its all about the journey, right?
Who wants to watch proven major league stars apply their trade in front of a raucous fan base anyway (lol) sigh sigh
A lot of upside for the $$$. plus any pitcher leaving the Halos will pitch better wherever they land.
The Sox seem to have a lot of faith in Hendriks, Fulmer and Sandoval. If only they had as much faith in Chris Sale
Yeah, this is a lot better than signing Fried.
Totally Better!
Another monster signing!
Oh wait….
Red Sox Acquire Tommy John
Cut out the middle man.
Lol
They’re rolling the dice for 26. not so much for 25. It’s not in the budget to go out and sign players. The purpose is to make money, compete if we can, and hope people see Fenway as a destination. Just like last year.
Completely worth the gamble. Sandoval has been electric at times. For the crybabies, they haven’t missed out on any of the other pieces they are missing yet, so you can hold the complaints.
Good Lordy we need to set up a clinic in the bull pen! So sick of the walking wounded. They need to sign a healthy pitcher!
Spitfire—The pitchers can report to the Tommy John Wing at Mass General.
I’ll just try to keep it shortish.
The Red Sox aren’t a serious team right now, and the players around the league know it. They are looking at better teams invest and try to win and see the cost as prohibitive as those teams improve. This is the mentality of mid and small tier teams dealing with windows of competition opportunities.
For four years you have seen them understand they are not good enough. Major issues go unsolved. The talent becomes less and less. The spending is thrifty to say the least. The willingness to give everyday jobs to journeymen, and reclamation projects become a feature of the roster build instead of depth.
It is the only thing that makes sense, because they aren’t dealing with blatant known issues regardless of the money that they have available to solve them with. They do not think they can compete, and they have adopted an attitude of can’t win, why try. Until they feel the young prospects are ready and will save them tens of millions in everyday roles, they have no desire to be outplayed spending by better teams
2024 free agent spending AT FULL THROTTLE
57 million on a hurt pitcher (Liam), and reclamation (Giolito), Anderson, Criswell, Keller.
2025 at MORE THAN FULL THROTTLE
36 million on a HURT starter on the heels of two bad years, a diminished Chapman, and Wilson.
This makes sense after the debacle of 2023
177 million on Jansen, Yoshida, Martin, Turner, and 4 reclamation projects.
william – you have aggregated the dollars in a way that shows, quantity over quality does nothing.
For all the money, and for all the dollars, wouldnt it have been better to sign a few of the quality free agents these past few years?
The Sox can afford to pay anyone, stop the nonsense
Bregman and Buehler would work nicely.
The Sox just make poor decisions and then it compounds. They should have signed Wacha and Lugo last offseason. Those were reasonable contracts. Now pitchers are getting big money and they don’t want to spend on those contracts. They should have signed Burnes when Snell signed instead of wasting time on Soto who they were never going to sign. It would have been cheaper to sign Burnes prior to Fried signing. I get you want to avoid big contracts at certain times, but you need to pick and choose better. They point to David Prices contract, but Dombrowski shouldn’t have signed him. Price clearly wasn’t going to fit in Boston. Pedro signed a big deal at the time and that worked. They just make poor decisions on giving out big contracts even when it’s obvious
It would have been cheaper to sign Burnes prior to Fried signing.
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You have no way of knowing that. And the fact that Burnes is still holding out implies that he is in no hurry to sign.
I would hope that they are still open to starting pitching since Sandoval doesn’t help them much if at all this season.
So the SOX were ready (so they say) to spend on Soto and they DID make a big trade….but DON’T STOP NOW….be brave…sign someone of quality who can play NOW. Sign the “PEDROIA” of today, the “DIRTDOG” who leads the young guys we have coming, the GAME CHANGER……ALEX BREGMAN !