BOSTON – Looking ahead to the long 2025 and full ’26 season, the Red Sox agreed to a two-year, $18.25 million contract with free-agent lefty starter Patrick Sandoval on Friday, a source told MLB.com .

The club has not confirmed the deal, which was originally reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Sandoval underwent Tommy John surgery shortly after his final start of the ’24 season on June 21 and will miss at least the first few months of the ’25 season.

The 28-year-old from Mission Viejo, California, has spent his entire major league career with his hometown Angels after being selected in the 11th round of the 2015 draft by the Astros.

When the Angels acquired Sandoval from the Astros for Martín Maldonado at the 2018 trade deadline, the left-hander was not considered a great candidate. However, over time, Sandoval developed into a quality member of the Angels rotation, becoming the second-best starter behind Shohei Ohtani in 2021-23.

During that time, Sandoval posted a 3.53 ERA and struck out 373 batters in 380 1/3 innings. However, Sandoval showed year-to-year regression to end his Angels tenure, seeing his ERA drop from 2.91 in 2022 to 4.11 in ’23 and to a mark of 5.08 in ’79 2/3 innings pitched in 24 before undergoing elbow surgery.

When Sandoval is in action, the left-hander can produce strikeouts with his excellent secondary throws, a changeup and a slider. If Sandoval does indeed return to a mound, he is still young enough to be a useful member of Boston’s rotation and has the potential for more.

Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, Lucas Giolito and Kutter Crawford currently make up the rest of the rotation, with Garrett Whitlock likely moving to the bullpen.

However, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow is looking to add more players to the rotation and hopes to get another starter before the end of the offseason, whether through trade or free agency.

With Sandoval, the Red Sox have a little more depth across the board.

The Red Sox have signed similar contracts with players who have undergone Tommy John surgery in recent years, including James Paxton and Liam Hendriks. None of these players were able to pitch in the first year of their multi-year contracts. The Sox are hoping Sandoval can reverse that trend.