If you can believe it, Newcomb is still in baseball. The 31-year-old was drafted by the Angels in the first round of the 2014 draft and was subsequently shipped to Atlanta as the centerpiece of the Andrelton Simmons trade during the Braves rebuild.
For a couple of seasons, Newcomb was a staple in Atlanta’s rotation. He had moments where he flashed the upside of a potential frontline starter, even coming just one strike away from a no-hitter against the Dodgers back in 2018. However, command issues never allowed him to reach his full potential.
Newcomb accumulated a 4.06 ERA across the 2017 and 2018 campaigns, posting an unsightly 12% walk rate. Eventually, the club relegated him to a relief role, where he actually found some semblance of success. In 2019, Newcomb posted a 3.16 ERA over 68.1 innings, but that level of production was short-lived.
Eventually, the hard-throwing southpaw was dealt to the Cubs for Jesse Chavez, which was a massive win for the Braves. After a brief stint in Chicago, Newcomb has spent the past two seasons with the A’s, throwing just 25 innings in the majors and allowing a dozen runs.
Newk will surely get a couple more cracks at an MLB roster via a minor-league deal, but his time is running out. Hopefully, something will click, and he can carve out some sort of role. Baseball is a funny game, and you never know when a talented pitcher might finally put it all together.
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Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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