The Red Sox selected pitching prospects David Sandlin, Shane Drohan and Tyler Uberstine to their 40-man roster ahead of Tuesday’s Rule 5 Draft protection deadline.
Boston left several prospects unprotected, including talented 23-year-old righty Yordanny Monegro, who tore his ulnar collateral ligament in June and underwent Tommy John surgery.
Sandlin, a 24-year-old righty, throws a four-seam fastball that reaches triple digits and averaged 97.1 mph in 2025.
He pitched well for Double-A Portland this past season in a starter/piggyback role, posting a 3.61 ERA and holding opponents to a .227 batting average in 17 outings (13 starts).
Sandlin — whom the Red Sox acquired from the Royals for right-handed reliever John Schreiber on Feb. 17, 2024 — struggled when the Red Sox moved him to the bullpen after his promotion to Triple-A Worcester in late July. He posted a 7.61 ERA (23 ⅔ innings, 20 earned runs) in 15 outings (one start) for the WooSox.
Drohan, a 26-year-old lefty, recorded a 2.27 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 35.2% strikeout percentage while holding opponents to a .185 batting average in 12 outings (11 starts) for the WooSox in ‘25. He missed from July 9 to August 26 with left forearm inflammation. But he pitched well when he was healthy in ‘25. He throws a fastball, cutter, changeup, slider and curveball.
This marked Drohan’s third season of Rule 5 Draft eligibility. The White Sox selected him in the 2023 Rule 5 Draft after Boston left him unprotected but they returned him June 12, 2024, after he underwent shoulder surgery almost four months earlier.
Uberstine, a 26-year-old righty, posted a 3.58 ERA in 25 outings (21 starts) for Portland and Worcester combined in 2025. Nineteen of those outings came with Worcester.
He was not even recruited out of high school after pitching just seven innings as a senior. Boston selected him in the 19th round (556th overall) in the 2019 Draft out of Northwestern.
He initially enrolled at USC as a regular student/non-athlete and studied business. But he hit a growth spurt between his freshman and sophomore year of college. He tried to walk on to the USC baseball team his sophomore year but didn’t make it and eventually transferred to Northwestern.
He throws a mid-90s fastball, a new cutter that he added during his Tommy John surgery rehab, a sweeper and a changeup.
Pitchers Jedixson Paez and Hayden Mullins as well as outfielders Miguel Bleis and Allan Castro were among the top prospects left unprotected. They’re all eligible to be taken by other clubs in the Rule 5 draft, which will be held December 10 in Orlando. Last year, the Red Sox lost rehabbing righty Angel Bastardo to Toronto in that draft.
Adding Drohan, Sandlin and Uberstine to the 40-man roster required a flurry of roster moves Tuesday. The Red Sox made four trades — they shipped righty Luis Guerrero to the Rays for infielder Tristan Gray, lefty Chris Murphy to the White Sox for minor league catcher Ronny Hernandez, lefty Brennan Bernardino to Colorado for infielder/outfielder Braiden Ward and non-roster righty Alex Hoppe to Seattle for minor league catcher Luke Heyman — before the 6 p.m. ET roster deadline. The club also designated first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and righty Josh Winckowski for assignment.
Effectively, Gray and the three prospect pitchers take the four spots previously occupied by Bernardino, Lowe, Murphy and Winckowski.
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