Role
Sandoval signed a two-year deal in December 2024, coming off Tommy John surgery (per MLB.com). He missed all of 2025, debuted for Boston on July 9, 2026, and made 13 starts before moving to the bullpen for his last two outings. He wasn't on the Wild Card roster. The contract is up, and Ian Browne of MLB.com lists him as a free agent and expects him to leave.
Outlook
It didn't come together. He went 1-7 with a 5.12 ERA, a 1.68 WHIP, and 32 walks in 70 1/3 innings, and hitters batted .305 against him. His expected ERA was 4.86 (Baseball Savant). The changeup is still a weapon. Hitters batted .170 against it and whiffed on 39.7% of their swings. The sinker was a problem (.400 average against). He struck out 73, so the swing-and-miss survived the surgery. He turns 30 this month.
Our take: someone will pay for the changeup and a full offseason of health, and it shouldn't be Boston. Houck, Crawford, and Oviedo are all trying to come back from injuries too, and the Red Sox don't need one more starter who needs time to get right.