Sean Newcomb: Everything you need to know

Newcomb notched a save against the Royals on Thursday, allowing one hit and striking out one batter over two scoreless innings. Newcomb entered in the eighth inning with Chicago holding a three-run lead. He tossed a scoreless frame, then saw the White Sox tack on a run in the bottom of the inning. Newcomb returned for the ninth and retired the side in order to lock down the save. Primary closer Seranthony Dominguez pitched each of the previous two days, and it's unclear if he would have been called upon in the ninth anyway since the White Sox held a four-run lead. Dominguez remains the team's clear top ninth-inning option, so fantasy managers probably shouldn't expect Newcomb to see many additional save chances going forward.

Newcomb threw 1.2 shutout innings Thursday, allowing just one hit while striking out three batters in a 5-3 loss to Tampa Bay. The 32-year-old southpaw entered in the seventh inning, keeping the game knotted at 2-2 before Seranthony Dominguez fell apart in the ninth. Newcomb got off to a rocky start to 2026, allowing six earned runs over his first 10 innings prior to this appearance. Thursday's performance lowered his ERA to 4.38 through 12.1 innings and nine games with a 13:5 K:BB, and he has just one hold with zero wins or saves.

White Sox manager Will Venable told reporters Saturday that Newcomb will work out of the bullpen for the 2026 season, Kyle Williams of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Newcomb has operated as a starter for most of his major-league career, but he found success out of the bullpen with the Red Sox and Athletics in 2025, posting a 2.73 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 91:31 K:BB across 92.1 innings. He inked a one-year deal with the White Sox in December and was competing for a rotation spot for the 2026 season. Although he won't open the season as a starter, Newcomb could see some spot starts to help give the White Sox's rotation extra rest.