With Lucas Giolito potentially out the door this offseason, the opportunity is there for Patrick Sandoval to step up.
After not receiving a qualifying offer on Thursday, there's a very real chance that Lucas Giolito could leave the Boston Red Sox in free agency this offseason.
And if he does, the eyes will be glued to left-hander Patrick Sandoval, who could fill that spot in the starting rotation.
About Sandoval
Now 29 years old, Sandoval has spent six years in the big leagues, all with the Los Angeles Angels. He signed a two-year deal with the Red Sox heading into 2025 but did not pitch at all while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Though he's got a ghastly 19-45 career record, much of that is a product on pitching on some bad Angels teams. His 4.01 ERA career ERA is better than his record would indicate and he had a 2.91 in 27 starts in 2022.
He's never thrown more than 148.2 innings in his career and he'll need to ease back into his workload in 2026, but he's someone the Red Sox are clearly excited about.
Could Giolito return?
Of course he could. As Merloni notes, he Giolito was a fan of Boston and wants to return, though we'll have to see how the money lines up and how the opportunity lines up.
Giolito, 31, went 10-4 with a 3.41 ERA this season, making 26 starts. He was not on the playoff roster because of an elbow issue but is reportedly healthy heading into the offseason.
He struck out only 121 batters in 145.0 innings.
How the rest of the Red Sox rotation lines up
Garrett Crochet is the ace of the staff and Brayan Bello is a guaranteed starter. Beyond that, the Red Sox have questions, and how they answer them will dictate how Giolito could potentially fit in.
Youngsters Payton Tolle and Connelly Early certainly had moments at the end of the 2025 season that lead you to believe they could be part of the solution in 2026. Kutter Crawford is back from a season-long injury as well, while there's always the possibility that the Red Sox could trade for an arm or sign one in free agency.
It should be noted that Tanner Houck, an All-Star in 2024, will be out for most or all of the season because of Tommy John surgery.
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