The Boston Red Sox need to fill out the backend of their starting rotation since Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford and Lucas Giolito are all expected to begin the season on the injured list.
That’s where Sean Newcomb comes into play.
Newcomb looked for any way to make the Red Sox Opening Day roster when the Middleboro, Mass., native signed a minor league contract with a non-roster invite to spring training with Boston in January. It looked like initially the best opportunity for the 6-foot-5, 255-pound left-hander would come as a long relief option in the bullpen.
But now, being a member of the starting rotation when camp breaks next week certainly is in play for Newcomb, who put together an impressive spring up to this point.
“He’s been solid,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters Monday, per MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “The cutter has made a difference. Throwing strikes, that’s the most important thing. This is a guy we’ve seen from the last few years against us. It always caught my attention. They’ve done a good job, the pitching department, adding the cutter, kind of like a strike stealer or avoiding barrels. And so far, so good. He’s in the hunt. He’s caught our eyes.”
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The Red Sox already have Garrett Crochet cemented as the Opening Day starter followed by Tanner Houck and Walker Buehler. Richard Fitts presumably earned a place on the starting staff for the time being due to a strong spring, leaving just one more spot up for grabs.
Newcomb is battling Quinn Priester, Cooper Criswell and Michael Fulmer to become the rotation’s final starter and Newcomb may have the inside track since he’s outperformed the others on the mound.
Newcomb, who the Los Angeles Angels selected 15th overall in the 2014 MLB Draft, has allowed just one run on five hits with three walks in 9 2/3 innings while striking out 10. The low walk total is key for the 31-year-old since he struggled with control at points in his career.
He’s also getting more out of his secondary pitches to go along with a fastball that sits in the mid-90s. Newcomb said Red Sox pitching coach Andrew Bailey and his staff tweaked his cutter, getting more life out of the pitch.
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Newcomb, who was designated for assignment by the Oakland Athletics last season in July and stayed on the free-agent market for the rest of the season, started just three games over the last four seasons, but he doesn’t lack experience in that role. He started 49 games for the Atlanta Braves during his first two seasons in MLB and has 60 starts in his career under his belt.
He could very well add to that total in just a couple of weeks, making it happen with the team he rooted for growing up.
“The goal (entering camp) was just to break with the big league team in any fashion, just help them get innings in any way,” Newcomb told reporters, per MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “In an ideal world obviously I like starting. It’s always kind of been my thing coming up and to start my big league career. It’s always where I had my success.”
Featured image via Reinhold Matay/Imagn Images
