Sean Newcomb To Compete For Starting Role With White Sox

From starter to high-leverage reliever and everywhere in between, Sean Newcomb had wide-ranging roles for the Boston Red Sox and Athletics in 2025. And he handled it well, accumulating the second-most wins above replacement, 1.7, in his nine-year MLB career.

That led to signing the most lucrative deal of his career in December, a one-year, $4.5 million contract with the White Sox after recording a 2.73 ERA in 92.1 innings in 2025. The White Sox lost four players who started at least nine games last season, and Newcomb will get an opportunity to fill their shoes.

"He’s going to come in and compete for a starting job, a job in the rotation I should say, which we are really excited about," White Sox manager Will Venable said Wednesday. "We know he had some success in both the starting role and the reliever role, so he is capable of doing both. He is going to be in that mix for starting rotation job and we are excited to help support him and go out and win it."

Newcomb works out in the offseason with White Sox pitchers and fellow Boston-area natives Shane Smith and Mike Vasil, who told Newcomb good things about the organization. In addition to the appeal of Chicago from his brief stint with the Cubs in 2022, Newcomb viewed the White Sox as a team on the rise that could provide him an opportunity to pitch as much as possible.

Newcomb, 32, will be the veteran on an otherwise young White Sox pitching staff that got 100-plus innings from starters Jonathan Cannon (24), Sean Burke (25), Shane Smith (25) and Davis Martin (28) last season. Left-hander Anthony Kay, 30, also joins the rotation after a successful two-year run in Japan.

And with prospects like Hagen Smith, Noah Schultz, Tanner McDougal and Duncan Davitt pushing for their MLB debuts in 2026, the White Sox starting rotation could be fluid throughout the year. Venable feels good about the volume of pitchers who could contribute, which opens the door for multi-inning relief roles as well.

Venable is a long way from setting a rotation, as spring training will certainly play a role in the decision.

"I think it's great to have competition with these guys," Venable said. "And understanding that there's a group of guys who have the capability of pitching bulk innings that we want to challenge to grab a starting rotation spot."

"Really excited about creating some healthy competition amongst the guys and seeing who can go out and go grab it. And at the same time, knowing that we're going to have these guys be flexible and pitch in a number of different ways. It just helps us at the end of the day to have guys who are versatile and willing to go out there and do whatever it takes to win."

Another aspect of Newcomb's decision in free agency was his history with White Sox senior advisor to pitching Brian Bannister. While in the San Francisco Giants' minor league system in 2023, Newcomb recalled throwing a bullpen with Bannister, then the director of pitching for the Giants.

Newcomb said Bannister adjusted a few of his pitch grips, which he believes led to some success in 2023. He still uses those grips because they give him confidence in his control and allow him to attack the zone.

"That was another part of the appeal, getting back working with [Bannister] and the pitch grip and stuff," Newcomb said. "Just kind of learn more about my arm slot, learn more about the way throw the ball well and the kind of fit the different sinker grip kind of versus being four-seam, curveball my whole coming up through the minors and first few years in the big leagues."

"It was just part of my adjustment, finding that sinker. And with that, I was able to find my newer slider. I think it gets labeled a slurve a lot, I call it a sweeper just because it gets a lot of horizontal break. But generally a slider. So those two pitches have been huge for me."

Newcomb credits his success in 2025 to learning how to use all six pitches and implementing different combinations against left-handed and right-handed hitters. In addition to keeping hitters guessing, that allowed him to pitch deeper into games and increased his confidence.

He hopes to continue that upward trajectory as a veteran leader for the White Sox next season.

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