The one veteran left-handed pitcher who should be on Pirates' free agent radar

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ left-handed pitching depth is rather shallow at the major league level, especially in the bullpen. They have top prospect Hunter Barco, but they’ll likely want to keep him as a starter. That leaves trade deadline acquisition Evan Sisk as the lone holdover, after recent 40-man roster addition Tyler Samaniego got dealt to the Red Sox. This could change, of course. We can't deny that general manager Ben Cherington also loves signing veteran left-handed starters on low-cost deals. Even if it’s not a wise choice to do so this year, Cherington can both add a veteran lefty with starting experience and a bullpen arm by going after Sean Newcomb.

Newcomb was once one of baseball’s premier pitching prospects in the late 2010s. He kicked off his career with a solid 2018 and 2019 with the Atlanta Braves. However, the 2020s haven't treated Newcomb very well, for the most part. Heading into 2025, the left-hander owned a 6.66 ERA, 5.49 FIP, and 1.69 WHIP while appearing in games for the Braves, Chicago Cubs, and Oakland Athletics. While Newcomb tossed 232.1 innings in 2018-2019, he would only tally 98.2 frames in 2020 to 2024. 

The Boston Red Sox then signed Newcomb to a minor-league contract, and he made the team out of spring training. He gave the Red Sox a respectable 3.95 ERA, 3.48 FIP, 21.6% strikeout percentage, 8.9% walk rate, and 0.66 HR/9 ratio through 41 innings of work. He started five of the 12 games he appeared in, giving them both solid production out of the rotation and bullpen. Newcomb’s 91.3 MPH exit velocity was poor, but his 7.7% barrel rate was not. However, even this undersells his performance, as his batting average on balls in play was an unsustainable .412 mark.

Despite those results, the Sox ended up designating him for assignment in late May. The Athletics then re-acquired Newcomb, and he only got better from there. His final 51 innings of the season saw him work to the tune of a 1.75 ERA, 2.69 FIP, and 1.03 WHIP. He was now striking out nearly a quarter of opponents (24.9% K%) while improving his walk rate (7%). Newcomb allowed very little hard contact with the A’s, holding opponents to an 86.5 MPH exit velocity and 5.7% barrel percentage, both of which helped him improve his HR/9 to 0.35. 

Sean Newcomb can help the Pirates in many ways.

There’s enough evidence to suggest Newcomb’s 2025 performance wasn’t a complete fluke, and he could continue to at least be a solid pitcher in 2026. He had a sub-3.50 xFIP and SIERA with the A’s, and a 3.66 SIERA and 3.69 xFIP on the season as a whole. Newcomb’s overall Stuff+ came in at a solid 101, and marked a massive step up from the 95 Stuff+ mark he had in 2020-2024. He can thank improved movement on his sinker, curveball, fastball, and newly minted cutter for that.

Newcomb can solve multiple issues for the Pirates. For one, he fulfills Ben Cherington’s habit of signing a veteran left-handed pitcher every offseason. Since taking over as Pirates’ GM, this is something he has done every winter, starting with Derek Holland, then Tyler Anderson, Jose Quintana, Rich Hill, Martin Perez, and Andrew Heaney to top it off last season. This is not something the Pirates should repeat this offseason, given their already deep pitching group. However, if they must, Newcomb offers more flexibility, as he can pitch out of the pen as well. 

Another thing Newcomb can do is be the Pirates’ sixth starter. The Bucs have a multitude of pitchers who likely won’t be tossing 160+ innings in 2026. Bubba Chandler, Braxton Ashcraft, Mike Burrows, Hunter Barco, and Jared Jones are likely all going to be on some sort of innings and pitch limits. Newcomb can make spot starts for the Pirates to conserve pitchers, making a start every few weeks and pitching the rest of the time as a multi-inning reliever. Plus, this would push Carmen Mlodzinski, who served as the Pirates’ primary long relief man in 2025, into a more important role.

Newcomb would also likely come at a relatively low cost. A similar pitcher, Matt Strahm, signed with the Philadelphia Phillies during the 2022-2023 offseason for two years at only $15 million. Like Newcomb, most of Strahm’s experience prior to signing this contract came as a starter/reliever swingman. Strahm is a left-hander as well. If the Pirates could land Newcomb at less than $10 million a season, he would add some much-needed innings from a lefty pitcher.

Newcomb brings a lot of positives and could fill many different holes for the Pirates. A lefty who can make occasional starts/pitch multiple innings out of the 'pen at a time, all for less than a $10 million AAV, would very much benefit the Pirates’ pitching staff. If the Pirates sign any pitcher this offseason, Newcomb should be among the top targets.