FORT MYERS, Fla. — It’s been a tough couple of years for Sean Newcomb.
In 2023 the Brockton native underwent surgery on both of his knees, and heading into last season the Oakland Athletics placed him on the 60-day injured list to start the year after he experienced what he described as “simple swelling.” Upon his return in June he pitched infrequently, often going nearly a week at a time between appearances, and he was ultimately released in July after throwing just 10 innings in nearly a month.
Newcomb did not pitch again the rest of the season, but now it appears his fortunes could finally be turning around.
Since signing with his childhood club on a minor league deal in January, Newcomb has emerged as a dark horse contender for the Red Sox starting rotation. Earlier this week manager Alex Cora identified the left-hander as one of four candidates for the two open spots, and based strictly on his performance, a strong argument could be made that Newcomb deserves to start the season on the Opening Day roster.
It’s been a refreshing change of pace for the 31-year-old, who described his longer-than-usual layoff as a needed reset but who is grateful to be back in a big league clubhouse again.
“Obviously being a local and growing up a huge Boston everything fan, it was definitely an ideal landing spot. Probably No. 1 where I wanted to go,” Newcomb said. “I didn’t consider who was here as far as the rotation, I just wanted to get to a good spot, a good team that’s ready to compete and feel normal again.”
A former Middleborough High star who was drafted in the first-round of the 2014 MLB Draft out of the University of Hartford, Newcomb originally broke into the big leagues as a starting pitcher and made 49 starts over his first two MLB seasons with the Atlanta Braves. After that Newcomb transitioned to the bullpen, being used primarily as a traditional one-inning reliever during the rest of his time with the Braves as well as in his subsequent stops with the Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants and Athletics.
Having the chance now to be stretched out as a starter represents a welcome return to Newcomb’s roots.
“For me it’s always been the more innings the better, if I’m in the pen I’m looking for that long role where I go 2-3 innings, I’ve got a good amount of off-speed pitches and it takes me a second to get rolling, so it’s been a good change of pace versus the one-inning relief stuff I’d been doing at the end of the Atlanta time and a little bit with Oakland,” Newcomb said. “Being stretched out is always good for me, I get to get rolling and get competitive, it feels good.”
Since joining the Red Sox Newcomb has made a strong impression on the mound. Entering Sunday the left-hander had appeared in four Grapefruit League games, allowing just one earned run over 9.2 innings while posting 10 strikeouts against three walks and holding opposing batters to a .152 average.
Those numbers are all among the best on the team.
Because Newcomb is in camp as a non-roster invitee and is not currently on the club’s 40-man roster, he may face longer odds at making the team than his competitors who are already on the 40-man. But regardless of how the next couple of weeks play out, Newcomb says the experience of being a part of the Red Sox has been everything he hoped it would be and more.
“It’s awesome. Being in Oakland it was a bit of a different situation, a lot of younger talent and it’s just a different way of going about things,” Newcomb said. “You come here and you can watch Aroldis Chapman, we’ve got (Walker) Buehler and (Garrett) Crochet, a bunch of dudes kind of my age, and guys I’ve seen around the league for years and see how they work. It’s a mix of prospects and veterans and it’s been good.”
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