The White Sox Can't Keep Relying on Sean Newcomb This Much

The Chicago White Sox are potentially playing with fire when it comes to their reliance on Sean Newcomb.

May 29, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox pitcher Sean Newcomb (15) pitches against the Detroit Tigers during the sixth inning at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With the White Sox struggling to get consistency from their rotation, they've had to turn to their bullpen more than they would like. There's no greater evidence for this than their bullpen leading MLB in innings pitched and their starting pitchers last in that category by a country mile.

One reliever who hasn't given cause for alarm thus far is Sean Newcomb. Before he gave up three runs in 1 1/3 innings of work during the Sox's 4-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, he had only surrendered at least that many runs twice in 52 other games during the season, both times against the New York Yankees. It's hard to ask much more out of a pitcher.

But the Sox are kidding themselves if they think Newcomb is going to be great every time he takes the mound. This game against the Pirates was evidence of that. Even though he wasn't charged with the loss, the Sox scoring twice in the later innings proved that the runs he allowed would make the difference.

The five hits Newcomb gave up were also his high for the season. You have to go back to May of last season, when he was with the Boston Red Sox, to find the last time that happened to him.

The silver lining is that after this outing, Newcomb still has a nice ERA of 2.71. And he remains an option if Will Venable needs another opener, which he has shown he is not afraid of using even in the thick of a pennant race. The Sox have won three of the four games he has opened, falling only the first time he has done that and collecting all of those winning opener appearances in August.

As this season has proven, though, guys tend to get tired when they're being stretched to their limit. That's hardly the case for Newcomb since he hasn't even reached his innings total for 2025 yet. Still, if they have to continually go to him because the younger pitchers aren't getting outs, that is eventually going to catch up to them, and opposing batters will gladly notice.

This is not to say that Newcomb will fall off a cliff during the final 2.5 weeks of the season. Rather, it's a caution for the Sox to be wise about how often they deploy him. And he definitely wants to be at his best as he prepares to enter free agency.

Newcomb is one of the Sox's best pitchers. It's up to them to make sure it stays that way.