White Sox sign lefty Newcomb to one-year deal
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CHICAGO -- White Sox general manager Chris Getz is working right up until the holiday break, as the team agreed to terms with free agent left-handed pitcher Sean Newcomb on a one-year, $4.5 million deal as announced Tuesday.
That move follows the addition of first baseman Munetaka Murakami via a two-year, $34 million deal, made official with a Monday press conference at Rate Field.
“I don’t even know if I like the time off quite honestly. I love diving in,” Getz told MLB.com on Monday. “It probably drives my family nuts and perhaps some of our employees as I’m pinging them early in the morning or late at night or in the middle of the night. I love this job and I love pursuing ways to get us better.”
Murakami serves as a prime example of getting the White Sox better, adding a powerful left-handed bat to the middle of the lineup. Newcomb has the same effect, possibly working as a reliever or a starter after having done both in ‘25, but excelling as a reliever.
Newcomb, 32, split the 2025 season between the Red Sox and the Athletics, going 2-5 with a 2.73 ERA, two saves, four holds and 91 strikeouts over 48 combined appearances (five starts) and 92 ⅓ innings. Among left-handed relievers, he ranked fifth in the Majors with a 2.19 ERA, and tied for seventh with 70 innings pitched. Newcomb began the season with the Red Sox before being traded to the Athletics on May 27 in exchange for cash considerations.
After joining the Athletics, the southpaw finished 2-1 with a 1.75 ERA, posting a .214 opponents average and 50 strikeouts in 36 relief outings covering 51 ⅓ innings. His 1.75 ERA since May 29 was the seventh-best mark among MLB relievers with at least 45 innings pitched.
The first-round pick of the Angels in the 2014 Draft has a career 4.41 ERA in 65 starts and a 3.84 ERA in 158 games out of the bullpen. Newcomb joins Brandon Eisert, Tyler Gilbert, Bryan Hudson, Anthony Kay and Chris Murphy as current fully healthy left-handed options on the White Sox 40-man roster. Kay, who joined the team this offseason via a two-year, $12 million deal, is the only one of that group apparently set in the starting rotation.
To make room for Newcomb on the 40-man roster, the White Sox designated left-hander Ryan Rolison for assignment. The White Sox 40-man roster remains at 40.