Josh Winckowski showed promise for the Red Sox as a starter in 2022, his first season in Major League Baseball.
The right-hander is impressing even more so in the early goings of the 2023 campaign but in a different role for Boston.
Winckowski is off to a great start as a relief arm for the Red Sox, who acquired him from the Kansas City Royals in the Andrew Benintendi trade back in February 2021. Entering Thursday’s series opener in Detroit, Winckowski owns a 1.50 ERA across three relief appearances (six total innings) with six strikeouts and only one walk. With great stuff and experience as a starter, Boston theoretically could use Winckowski in a variety of ways.
The 24-year-old has impressed Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who noticed a change in Winckowski’s mindset following the role change.
“The one that is intriguing us a lot is Winckowski,” Cora said Wednesday on WEEI’s “Gresh & Fauria,” as transcribed by Audacy. “I think he did an amazing job (against the Pirates), he did a good job earlier against Baltimore. His stuff is ticking up, he’s throwing 96, 97. This is a kid that last year he was caught up on the strikeouts, the swing and misses, and he’s not doing that out of the bullpen. So he’s a good one, we really like him.”
With Garrett Whitlock and Brayan Bello both set to return from injury and join Boston’s rotation, there probably isn’t a path for Winckowski to return to starting this season. But he appears more than comfortable coming out of the ‘pen, and he could prove to be a critically important asset for the Red Sox.
