Sean Newcomb wanted a chance to start, but the White Sox ultimately made the smart call by putting the veteran left-hander back where he’s been most effective.
When the Chicago White Sox signed Sean Newcomb to a one-year deal this winter, I was impressed by the organization’s ability to land what many considered the top left-handed relief pitcher remaining on the open market.
Newcomb threw 92.1 innings in 2025 with a 2.73 ERA between the Boston Red Sox and the Athletics.
However, I became fairly concerned the more I heard from Newcomb and the more I heard about his goals for the 2026 season.
In offseason interviews discussing his decision to join the White Sox, Newcomb mentioned that his primary objective was to start as many games as possible. The White Sox then announced their intention to bring him to spring training at Camelback Ranch as a starting pitching option — someone who could potentially earn his way into the rotation.
I’ll never blame Newcomb, or any other pitcher for that matter, for wanting to start. He’s 32 years old on a one-year deal and a former first-round pick who was drafted as a starting pitcher. It makes all the sense in the world for him to want to establish his value as a starter before hitting the open market once again. That’s how you maximize your value, and that’s how you get paid.
It just never really made practical sense for either party.
In 2025, Newcomb had a 4.43 ERA and an 0–3 record across five starts. His WHIP was 1.93 in those outings. But as a reliever, he threw 70 innings with a 2.19 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP — far more dominant and far more valuable.
The White Sox were certainly in the market for starting pitchers this offseason, but the organization emphasized a need for innings. The whole purpose of adding veteran starters was to find arms who could protect the young pitchers in the rotation by consistently working deeper into games. The White Sox ultimately found that with Anthony Kay and Erick Fedde, even if it wasn’t exactly the caliber of pitcher White Sox fans were hoping for (that’s more true for Fedde than it is for Kay).
But for that reason as well, moving Newcomb out of the bullpen never made much sense for Chicago. The last time he threw more than 100 innings in a season was in 2018. That’s eight years ago now. Trying to stretch Newcomb out to throw more innings than he has in nearly a decade, especially when he’s dealt with injuries in the past and has been far more effective as a reliever, always felt like a questionable plan.
So I think White Sox fans will be happy to know that the team has finally put the speculation to bed.
On Saturday, White Sox manager Will Venable told reporters that Sean Newcomb will work out of the bullpen this season. The White Sox spoke with Newcomb over the weekend to inform him of his role.
While the team would not commit to anyone else in the starting rotation besides Opening Day starter Shane Smith, it stands to reason that the White Sox will begin the year with Smith, Davis Martin, Anthony Kay, Eric Fedde, and Sean Burke starting games.
Mike Vasil was a dark horse contender after being stretched out this spring, but the White Sox played with fire and got burned when Vasil left Saturday’s spring training game with right elbow soreness.
Thankfully, Newcomb has been able to make it through camp healthy, even while experimenting with a starting role. The White Sox will absolutely need him to eat up innings in a long relief role. That was true before, but it’s even more the case now that Vasil could miss significant time.
Chicago made the right call here, even if it’s disappointing news from Newcomb’s perspective.