Sean Newcomb is slated to start Game 3 of the ALDS for the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday, two days after relieving in Game 2, and about 16 months after being cast aside by his hometown team, the Boston Red Sox, who traded him to the Athletics for cash.
Chicago sits one win from its first home series clincher since 1906, according to CBS Sports, yet the lefty’s role leaves open who covers the bulk of Wednesday’s innings.
Newcomb takes the ball at Rate Field at 4 p.m. ET with the White Sox up 2-0 on the Guardians, according to ABC7 Chicago.
The assignment surfaced Tuesday afternoon from White Sox beat writer James Fegan. Early reporting frames it as another lefty opener with the bulk pitcher undetermined, according to MLB Bulk Bot.
Manager Will Venable calls the plan something other than a pure opener model, according to MLB.com.
Newcomb worked two innings Monday behind opener Anthony Kay, allowing one hit and an intentional walk to Jo Adell while striking out three on 40 pitches, according to ESPN’s Newcomb player page. A throwing error on Nathaniel Lowe’s chopper let Steven Kwan and José Ramírez score, but the runs went on Kay’s line, according to Reuters.
That was his second playoff appearance. In the Wild Card Series at Houston on Sept. 29, he surrendered two earned runs, including a homer, in one inning of a 6-3 win, according to CBS Sports’ Newcomb game log. His postseason line stands at 3.0 innings, a 6.00 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP, according to StatMuse’s Newcomb page.
In the regular season, he went 2-5 with a 3.09 ERA and 1.18 WHIP over 60 games, six of them starts, adding four saves and 84 strikeouts in 90 1/3 innings. He signed a one-year, $4.5 million deal Dec. 23, 2025, according to MLB Trade Rumors.
Sean Newcomb’s Boston Red Sox Stint
A Brockton native who attended Middleborough High, Newcomb grew up rooting for the Red Sox and became the 28th Massachusetts-born pitcher to start a game for the franchise, according to MassLive.
The Red Sox used him in five starts, then in long relief, and he finished 0-4 with a 3.95 ERA in 12 games. He threw 139 pitches in relief the week Boston dumped him.
Boston designated him for assignment May 24, 2025, after one inning and one run against Baltimore, opening a roster spot for Luis Guerrero from Triple-A Worcester. Three days later, the Red Sox traded him to the Athletics for cash, according to CBS News Boston.
Roster need drove the move. With Newcomb already designated, cash was the return the Athletics provided. He then posted a 1.75 ERA with two saves and 50 strikeouts in 51 1/3 innings over 36 games for the Athletics before elbow inflammation ended his season Sept. 20, 2025.
Sean Newcomb’s Los Angeles Angels First-Round Pedigree
The Los Angeles Angels selected the 6-foot-5 lefty 15th overall in 2014 out of the University of Hartford, the highest pick in school history, with a $2,518,000 signing bonus.
Atlanta acquired him Nov. 12, 2015, in the Andrelton Simmons trade. In 2018, he went 12-9 with a 3.90 ERA, including a no-hit bid that lasted 8 2/3 innings against the Dodgers on July 29. He later sat on the Braves‘ 2021 World Series roster.
Through 2026, his regular-season ledger reads 32-35 with a 4.03 ERA and 613 strikeouts in 613 2/3 innings across 283 games for the Braves, Cubs, Athletics, Red Sox and White Sox.
Why Did Red Sox Dump Sean Newcomb? He’s Starting ALDS Game 3 for White Sox