Giants' Sean Newcomb: Reaches NRI deal with San Francisco
Rotowire
Newcomb and the Giants agreed Monday on a minor-league contract that includes an invitation to MLB spring training, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.
Once one of the more promising young left-handers in baseball, Newcomb has struggled to throw strikes over the past three seasons. He posted an 8.78 ERA in 20 appearances last season with a 24:15 K:BB in 22.2 innings. The southpaw will get a chance to win a spot in the San Francisco bullpen, but is just as likely -- if not more so -- to begin the 2023 season with Triple-A Sacramento after the Cactus League comes to a close.
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Sean Newcomb: Elects free agency
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Newcomb elected to become a free agent Oct. 6.
Newcomb was traded from Atlanta to Chicago at the start of the 2022 season, finding minimal success with an 8.78 ERA and 1.88 WHIP over 27.2 innings in the majors. However, his 3.38 ERA and 1.25 WHIP at Triple-A Iowa may be enough for another team to take a chance on the 29-year-old lefty going into 2023.
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Cubs' Sean Newcomb: Outrighted to Triple-A
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Newcomb cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Iowa on Monday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.
Newcomb was designated for assignment by the Cubs on Saturday but will remain in the organization after going unclaimed on waivers. Over 12 appearances (one start) at Iowa this year, the southpaw has posted a 3.38 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in 24 innings.
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Cubs' Sean Newcomb: Designated for assignment
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Newcomb was designated for assignment by the Cubs on Saturday, Tony Andracki of Marquee Sports Network reports.
Newcomb tossed four scoreless innings over his last two appearances, but he posted a 9.13 ERA and 1.81 WHIP in 22.2 innings over 17 appearances (one start) with the Cubs. He'll lose his spot on the 40-man roster after Adbert Alzolay (lat) was reinstated from the 60-day injured list Saturday.
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Cubs' Sean Newcomb: Struggles again Friday
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Newcomb allowed five runs on three hits across two innings of relief in Friday's 8-0 loss to the Cardinals. He walked four and struck out one.
Starter Adrian Sampson took the loss but pitched much better than Newcomb, who struggled mightily for the second straight appearance. In those two games, the lefty has allowed 11 runs across just three innings, and his ERA has skyrocketed to an unsightly 10.27. Newcomb actually finished with a worse ERA in 2020 when he registered an 11.20 mark across four games with Atlanta. He's squarely off the fantasy radar at this point despite some success earlier in his career.
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Cubs' Sean Newcomb: Implodes in loss Sunday
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Newcomb (2-1) allowed six runs on six hits across just one inning of work to take the loss Sunday against the Brewers. He walked two and struck out two.
Newcomb came into the contest pitching well lately with a 2.16 ERA across eight appearances since shifting to a bullpen role earlier this month. That all came crashing down Sunday, and the lefty saw his ERA for the month jump all the way to 7.71. Considering that Newcomb had a 4.73 ERA for Atlanta last year and an 11.20 ERA during the shortened 2020 campaign, it seemed like a matter of time until he endured some struggles in his new relief role with the Cubs.
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Cubs' Sean Newcomb: Pitching well from bullpen
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Newcomb has a 2.16 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 12 strikeouts across 8.1 innings since shifting to a bullpen role earlier this month.
Newcomb earned the win in relief Friday, improving to 2-0 this season. The lefty allowed two earned runs across three innings in a spot start back on Aug. 4, but he's allowed only two earned runs total across his eight relief appearances since then. Newcomb had some success as a starter in Atlanta earlier in his career before enduring some struggles the past few years, so it remains to be seen if he can sustain his recent form for an extended period of time.
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Cubs' Sean Newcomb: Shifts to bullpen
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Newcomb struck out two and worked around a hit and a walk to deliver a scoreless inning in relief in Sunday's 3-0 loss to the Marlins.
Newcomb's previous appearance with the Cubs had come as a starter in the second game of the team's doubleheader with the Cardinals on Thursday, when the southpaw took a no-decision after giving up two earned runs across three innings. Since the Cubs transitioned back into a five-man rotation following the doubleheader, Newcomb looks set to operate as a multi-inning option out of the bullpen for the duration of his stay on the active roster.
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Cubs' Sean Newcomb: Goes three innings in spot-start
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Newcomb didn't factor into the decision during a 7-2 loss to St. Louis in Game 2 of Thursday's doubleheader, allowing two runs on five hits with one strikeout in three innings.
Making his first start since 2020, Newcomb surrendered a Nolan Arenado two-run home run in the first inning while letting runners reach second base in each of his ensuing frames, but he was able to escape the jams. The 56 pitches eclipsed the 44 he tossed in his most recent outing June 12, and the two runs surrendered actually dropped the 29-year-old's ERA to 10.22 across 12.1 innings. It appears unlikely Newcomb will remain with the big-league club barring injury to the staff.
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Cubs' Sean Newcomb: Contract selected for spot start
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Newcomb had his contract selected by the Cubs and will start Game 2 of Thursday's doubleheader against the Cardinals, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.
The left-hander was previously announced as the starter for Thursday's nightcap, and he's now officially been added to the big-league roster. Newcomb has surrendered 12 earned runs with an 8:6 K:BB across 9.1 big-league innings between Chicago and Atlanta this season.
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Cubs' Sean Newcomb: Getting start in doubleheader
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The Cubs will call up Newcomb from Triple-A Iowa to start the second game of Thursday's doubleheader with the Cardinals, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Chicago added lefty Matt Dermody from Iowa ahead of the twin bill to serve as their 27th man, but the team will wait until after Game 1 to officially select Newcomb's contract from the minors. The southpaw has made all 39 of his appearances at the big-league level over the past two seasons out of the bullpen, but he'll be joining the Cubs as a starter after having recently moved into the rotation at Iowa. He built up to four innings and 71 pitches in his last minor-league outing, so Newcomb could struggle to work deep enough in Game 2 to factor into any decision.
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Cubs' Sean Newcomb: Clears waivers
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The Cubs outrighted Newcomb to Triple-A Iowa on Monday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Newcomb will have until Wednesday to decide whether to accept the assignment to Iowa or elect free agency. Between stops with Atlanta and Chicago this season, Newcomb was charged with 12 earned runs on 16 hits and six walks while striking out eight over 9.1 innings.
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Cubs' Sean Newcomb: Dropped from 40-man roster
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The Cubs designated Newcomb for assignment Monday.
Newcomb has now been DFA'd on two occasions this season; he was previously booted off Atlanta's 40-man roster in April before being dealt to the Cubs. He spent most of his six-week tenure with the Cubs on the 15-day injured list with a left ankle sprain before he was blasted for five earned runs in an inning of long relief in his first game back from the IL in Sunday's 18-4 loss to the Yankees.
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Cubs' Sean Newcomb: Lit up in return from IL
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Newcomb (ankle) was shelled for five earned runs on six hits and a walk while striking out one over an inning out of the bullpen in Sunday's 17-4 loss to the Yankees.
Back in action for the Cubs after a month-long stint on the 15-day injured list with a sprained left ankle, Newcomb entered the contest in the sixth inning with the Cubs trailing 10-3 and did little to clot the bleeding. He now sports an 11.57 ERA and 2.36 WHIP over 9.1 innings between stops in Atlanta and Chicago and could be in danger of being booted off the 40-man roster if he doesn't turn things around in the near future.
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Cubs' Sean Newcomb: Back from injured list
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Newcomb (ankle) was activated off the injured list Sunday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.
Newcomb wound up missing over a month with a sprained left ankle. Prior to the injury, he struggled to a 7.56 ERA and 7:5 K:BB in 8.1 innings of relief, so he'll likely be limited to low-leverage opportunities.
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Cubs' Sean Newcomb: Making third rehab outing Tuesday
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Newcomb (ankle) is scheduled to make his third rehab appearance for Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday, Tim Stebbins of NBC Sports Chicago reports.
Newcomb has worked 1.2 innings between his first two outings at Iowa, giving up two earned runs on one hit and two walks. Whenever the Cubs deem him ready to return from the 15-day injured list, Newcomb will occupy a low-leverage role out of the bullpen.
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Cubs' Sean Newcomb: Starting up rehab assignment
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Newcomb (ankle) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment Tuesday at Triple-A Iowa, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.
Newcomb has been on the shelf for under two weeks with the left ankle sprain, so he likely won't require more than an appearance or two in the minors before the Cubs are comfortable activating him. Between stops with Atlanta and Chicago this season, Newcomb has made six relief appearances covering 8.1 innings and has given up seven earned runs on 10 hits and five walks.
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Cubs' Sean Newcomb: Throws bullpen session
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Newcomb (ankle) threw a 40-pitch bullpen session Saturday, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.
Newcomb resumed playing catch last weekend, and he handled a fairly significant workload while throwing off a mound Saturday. The team will wait to see how he responds to Saturday's throwing session prior to determining the next steps in the southpaw's recovery, but he seems to be trending toward a relatively minimal absence.
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Cubs' Sean Newcomb: Plays catch
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Newcomb (ankle) played catch Saturday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.
Newcomb hit the injured list Wednesday with a sprained left ankle. The fact that he's playing catch three days later suggests that his absence may not be a particularly long one. He's expected to resume mound work soon.
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Cubs' Sean Newcomb: Goes on IL with ankle injury
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The Cubs placed Newcomb on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with a left ankle sprain, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.
According to Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times, Newcomb picked up the ankle injury while shagging flyballs in the outfield during batting practice Sunday. Since being acquired from Atlanta on April 20, Newcomb has made just three appearances out of the Chicago bullpen, working 3.1 innings while giving up three earned runs.
