Not long ago it wasn’t clear how Patrick Sandoval was going to fit into the Red Sox pitching staff. The veteran lefty was finally nearing a return after more than two years lost to Tommy John surgery, but with the Red Sox rotation rolling it didn’t seem like there was any spot for him.

But last week, when asked what the club planned to do, Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said situations like this have a way of working themselves out.

Turns out Sandoval’s return is coming at the perfect time.

The Red Sox starting rotation is suddenly in tatters, with both Connelly Early and Ranger Suarez leaving their last starts due to injury. The Red Sox are still waiting for full clarity on the lefties’ ailments, but for now the club has two holes to fill over the final week before the All-Star break.

Sandoval — who was officially activated Monday evening — will presumably fill one of those spots, but beyond that the Red Sox have some decisions to make.

Payton Tolle and Jake Bennett will start Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, against the Chicago White Sox, but Thursday and beyond is still to be determined. The two most likely options for Thursday would be Sonny Gray, who last pitched Saturday and would be going on normal rest, or Sandoval, who made his final rehab start Saturday as well.

Whichever of those two doesn’t start Thursday would presumably start Friday’s series opener against the New York Mets at Citi Field.

Tolle is lined up to start Sunday’s final game before the All-Star break, but the Red Sox will also need to call up someone to pitch Saturday’s middle game in New York. The two most likely candidates for that game are Brayan Bello and Tyler Uberstine.

Bello has pitched respectably since his demotion to Triple-A, posting a 4.34 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings over four starts. But since Bello last pitched on July 1, pitching on Saturday would necessitate a significant disruption in Bello’s usual routine. He wouldn’t be able to start any of this week’s upcoming WooSox games and be ready again Saturday on regular rest, and the club might prefer he not go 11 days between starts.

If the Red Sox decided they want Bello to make a start in the big leagues this week, another option would be starting Bello on Thursday, Gray on Friday and Sandoval on Saturday. But if the preference is to keep Bello in Worcester until the club is sure he’s gotten his act together, then a spot start by Uberstine on Saturday would be a straightforward fix, especially since the rookie last pitched Sunday and would be lined up perfectly.

Two pitchers who won’t be candidates to start is Alec Gamboa, who was optioned to Triple-A to clear space for Sandoval, and Jack Anderson, who was designated for assignment to open up a 40-man roster spot.

Anthony to rehab in Fort Myers

When Roman Anthony sprained his hand swinging back on May 4, the initial expectation was he might need just a couple of days before returning to the lineup.

More than two months later, Anthony still can’t swing a bat pain-free.

Anthony’s injury has proven to be much more stubborn than anyone anticipated, and now the 22-year-old has been sent to Fort Myers to continue his rehab away from the bright lights of Boston. Tracy told reporters in Anaheim this weekend that the decision was partly logistical, since the Red Sox clubhouse was getting crowded with a lot of injured players, but also to help Anthony get away from the daily scrutiny he’s faced since May.

“His focus, his singular focus now is, ‘You’re in Florida and get yourself healthy and not to have to deal with all the other stuff that goes with it,’” Tracy told reporters on Sunday, per MassLive’s Sean McAdam. “It’s a singular focus, focused on getting himself healthy and get back to us. We want him in the lineup. I’m going to be in touch with him frequently and see how he’s doing with the hope that we get him back.”

Tracy said Anthony will also get a second opinion from Dr. Gary Lourie in Atlanta, a renowned hand specialist who serves as a partner at The Hand & Upper Extremity Center of Georgia and who has worked closely with the Atlanta Braves and Georgia Tech athletics for years.

Anthony’s injury has been among the biggest reasons why the Red Sox offense has fallen short of expectations over the first half. Last year as a rookie, Anthony emerged as one of the club’s top hitters, batting .292 with eight home runs and an .859 OPS between his June 9 debut and his season-ending oblique injury in early September.

The hope was he could provide similar or better production in his first full season, but instead Anthony was among the many Red Sox regulars who struggled out of the gate. He batted .229 with one homer and a .675 OPS in 30 games prior to the injury, and now he’s been sidelined ever since.

Setbacks keep coming for Casas

Tracy provided another discouraging injury update over the weekend in Anaheim as well, telling reporters that first baseman Triston Casas suffered yet another setback and has been shut down from hitting due to a wrist issue.

“He had a little wrist hiccup the other day,” Tracy said, per McAdam. “He’s gone through a lot, between the knee, then he had a little hamstring flareup, obviously the oblique and he’s come back from that and now there’s a wrist that’s popped up. We’ll keep an eye and once he’s able to, keep progressing.”

Casas hasn’t appeared in a game since suffering a ruptured patellar tendon running to first base on May 2, 2025. The first baseman progressed to a point where he was swinging regularly and hitting off of a machine, but that’s been put on pause for now.

Maintain momentum?

Two weeks ago, when the Red Sox lost two out of three to the lowly Colorado Rockies to fall a season-low 14 games below .500, there was no reason to believe a change in the team’s fortunes was around the corner.

Since then the Red Sox have gone 8-2 with sweeps against the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels. Even with a disappointing series loss to the Washington Nationals sandwiched in between, this has been by far the best stretch of the season for the Red Sox.

Can they keep it up?

The Red Sox will finish the first half with two more winnable series, first facing the White Sox (47-42) at Rate Field before wrapping up their road trip with three games against the Mets (37-53 entering Monday). Standing at 40-48, the Red Sox still have a lot of ground to make up, but two more series wins heading into the All-Star break would at least put the club in a spot where selling at the trade deadline might not be such an obvious call.

At the very least the club has found a way to keep things interesting heading into July.