The Los Angeles Angels were hopeful for good news when Patrick Sandoval was removed from a game last Friday with left forearm tightness. But further testing revealed the worst, and Sandoval is set to undergo Tommy John surgery with a torn ulnar collateral ligament and a high-grade flexor tendon tear. He will be out at least a year.
This news is about as bad as it could have been for Sandoval and the Angels. L.A. has already been dealing with rotation issues, as Reid Detmers figures things out in Triple-A, Chase Silseth slowly making his way through rehab starts and Jose Soriano out for a couple more weeks with an abdomen infection.
Sandoval’s services were greatly necessary, especially as the young starter had just began piecing together a decent season after early struggles. He had a 4.44 ERA over his last 10 starts, including just above nine strikeouts per nine innings. Sandoval is going to have some type of Tommy John surgery as soon as he possibly can, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
“It sucks, there’s no other way to put it,” Sandoval said. “I love being out there on the field and playing. It’s just unfortunate. I’m going to have surgery as soon as possible. I’m still not sure [the exact surgery], but I’m weighing my options.”
It’s never good to see a pitcher succumb to this type of injury and be forced out of the rotation for 12 months or more. But for Sandoval, his recent turnaround makes this all the more difficult to swallow for the Angels. Manager Ron Washington discussed this sentiment.
“It is tough for everyone, especially him because he was starting to really, really compete and then something like this happened,” Washington said. “You can’t control it. But now we know he’s got to get it fixed. We just got to continue to move on. I just told him the best of luck, and that I love him. There’s not much more I can say.”
In the meantime, Griffin Canning and Tyler Anderson remain the two starters from the Opening Day rotation that are still healthy. And until Detmers, Silseth and Soriano are ready, the Halos will have to cobble together a rotation. Only Davis Daniel is seen as a potential short-term starter in the current moment.
Patrick Sandoval nearing contract decision
The Angels have two more years of control on Sandoval, through the 2026 season. However, considering Sandoval may not be back until the start of 2026, the Halos may have to look at alternatives to letting him play out his arbitration-eligible years.
One option could be to non-tender him and re-sign him to a multi-year extension at a lower dollar amount. This gives Sandoval some long-term security and kicks the can down the road for the Angels to see how well he recovers from surgery.