The Boston Red Sox's early 2025 campaign has been a back-and-forth experience, culminating in a 27-27 record ahead of Sunday's finale against the Baltimore Orioles. It's been a rollercoaster ride of the first two months, to say the least, leaving time to tell what kind of success June and the remainder of the MLB season will bring.
The season's first two months gave Red Sox fans a good idea as to who is and isn't capable of building a winning brand of baseball in Boston. While some players' early performances have guaranteed a spot on manager Alex Cora's roster for the rest of the year, one veteran pitcher's poor showing led the club to make a big roster change on Saturday.
Red Sox DFA LHP Sean Newcomb Before the End of May
On Saturday evening, MassLive's Chris Cotillo reported that the Red Sox have designated left-handed pitcher Sean Newcomb for assignment. In a corresponding move, Boston has promoted right-handed reliever Luis Guerrero from Triple-A Worcester.
Newcomb's time in Boston was a "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" situation. The former 2014 first-rounder signed a minor-league contract with the Red Sox in January, but found himself on Cora's Opening Day roster after a strong spring training showing that saw him go 1-0 with a 0.63 ERA and 13 strikeouts across 14 1/3 innings.
Unfortunately, Newcomb failed to demonstrate similar regular-season reliability. Although the 31-year-old hurler pitched to a decent 3.83 ERA in 11 outings (5 starts) with the Red Sox, he went an uninspiring 0-4 in those appearances while allowing his most hits per nine innings (12.2) since the 2020 campaign.
Although he showed promise at times throughout the last two months, giving up two homers, four walks, six earned runs, and 16 hits in his final 12 1/3 innings of work was enough for the Red Sox to cut ties with Newcomb. Boston has seven days to waive or trade the Brockton, MA native, leaving time to tell if he'll find a new home soon or elect for free agency.
With Newcomb being DFA'd, it's clear that the rest of the Red Sox's starters have been put on notice. The starting rotation has left much to be desired outside of Garrett Crochet (and Walker Buehler, to an extent), meaning Boston's other arms must step up if they don't want to be kicked to the curb like Newcomb.
For now, the Red Sox's current crop of pitchers will be expected to help the club capitalize on their +2600 odds to win the 2025 World Series (T-10th) on FanDuel Sportsbook.
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