Red Sox’s Josh Winckowski Reveals Unique ‘Grudge’ On Former Team

Athletes find motivation in multiple ways, and Red Sox pitcher Josh Winckowski has a particular gripe with an American League East rival.

Winckowski was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 15th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft. The right-hander made it as far as High-A Dunedin during his three years in Toronto’s farm system before he was traded to the New Mets on Jan. 27, 2021. Boston acquired Winckowski on Feb. 10, 2021, as part of the three-team deal that sent Andrew Benintendi to the Kansas City Royals.

While there aren’t any hard feelings toward the Mets since he barely had a cup of coffee with the organization, there still is a bitter feeling toward Toronto.

“I’ve always been a big chip-on-my-shoulder guy and sometimes I do the ‘fake fire’ stuff, so I still hold a grudge against them, to this day, even though it’s probably not warranted,” Winckowski told MassLive’s Chris Cotillo earlier this week. “I just fake it. Anytime I play them, I just want to do extremely well. Even just giving up a hit to them drives me crazy.”

Reflecting on his Toronto tenure, Winckowski added: “I think the Blue Jays thought I was a good pitcher but as any team does, they had their guys that they had an explicit trust and belief in. At the end of the day, there was a price for me. It’s a business and I get it. They saw one year of Steven Matz worth losing me for.”

Winckowski has been solid in the bullpen for the Red Sox this season, and he’ll get a chance to use his “fake fire” against the Blue Jays this weekend as the Red Sox continue their series at Rogers Centre.

First pitch for Saturday’s game is scheduled at 3:07 p.m. ET, and you can watch full coverage on NESN starting with pregame at 2 p.m.