Patrick

Sandoval

No word yet whether Sandoval went a full Tommy John ligament replacement or a less invasive internal brace procedure. The 27-year-old southpaw is expected to miss most of, if not all, of the 2025 campaign.

Sandoval was in the midst of one of the better stretches of his career before suffering a serious left elbow injury during last Friday’s start against the Dodgers. The 27-year-old southpaw will undergo season-ending surgery in the near future and is expected to miss a significant chunk, if not all, of the 2025 campaign as well.

If it’s a full Tommy John, Sandoval will miss most or all of 2025. If he has the internal brace operation, it’s more likely that he’ll be able to return for the second half of the year. In spite of improved peripherals, Sandoval was 2-8 with a 5.08 ERA for the Angels this season. He had a 3.85 FIP, a 4.13 xERA and a 4.13 SIERA, but a .341 BABIP was causing big problems.

No word yet on the result of Sandoval’s MRI exam, but it’s not surprising in the slightest to see him wind up on the injured list after he exited Friday night’s start with tightness in his forearm. It remains unclear how long he’ll ultimately be shelved for. Guillo Zuniga was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake in a corresponding move on Saturday.

Sandoval delivered a pitch to Shohei Ohtani and immediately knew something was wrong and signaled for the training staff. He’ll almost assuredly undergo an MRI exam to determine the severity of the issue, but it’s likely that a lengthy stint on the injury list is upcoming. The Angels should have a better idea of his status on Saturday.

The 27-year-old southpaw delivered a pitch to walk Shohei Ohtani, then immediately called for the training staff to come out to the mound — knowing something was wrong with his arm. He’ll head for further evaluation to determine exactly what’s going on there, but it would be shocking if it didn’t require a trip to the injured list at a minimum. Sandoval allowed two hits and two walks over his 2 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball before the injury.

Sandoval served up a two-run homer to Heliot Ramos in the first inning. He settled in to toss three scoreless frames before Ramos got to him in the fifth, bringing a run home to score on a double. Sandoval would be done after five innings at 98 pitches, striking out five. The 27-year-old left-hander will take a 5.24 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, and an 80/33 K/BB ratio across 77 1/3 innings into a road start against the Dodgers on Friday.

The 27-year-old southpaw struck out four batters on the afternoon while issuing three free passes. The Astros got to him for three runs in the third inning on run-scoring hits from Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Jeremy Pena. He then gave up a run-scoring double to Jose Abreu before exiting in the sixth, and Abreu ultimately scored as well. Sandoval got nine whiffs on 99 pitches on the day — five on his changeup — while posting an underwhelming CSW of only 19 percent. He’ll carry a disappointing 5.23 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and a 75/31 K/BB ratio (72 1/3 innings) into Saturday’s tilt against the Giants in San Francisco.

He fanned seven. Unfortunately, Sandoval didn’t get the win, as the Angels didn’t take a lead until the bottom of the seventh. As unlucky as he’s been in the results department, Sandoval is at least fortunate that the Angels soured on Reid Detmers first. Sandoval doesn’t deserve to be 2-8 with a 5.00 ERA while his xERA, SIERA and FIP are all at least a run lower, but if the Angels believed in those kinds of numbers, Detmers would still be in the majors right now.

Sandoval allowed only two hits while walking three with seven strikeouts. Both hits ended up scoring, as Aaron Judge homered with Juan Soto on base to give New York a 2-1 lead and Sandoval a loss. It’s a vastly improved effort from his struggles Friday against the Guardians where he allowed eight runs over 3 2/3 innings, but his 5.34 ERA helps tell the story of how mediocre he’s been for the majority of 2024. He’ll try and match this effort — but with some run support — against the Padres next week.