Josh Winckowski: There are a lot of things the fans don't see
There has been plenty of talk in regards to the role of Tanner Houck this offseason for the Red Sox, which is the same boat Josh Winckowski falls into. Winckowski has started in 14 of the 15 games he has appeared in during his time in the major league. The rotation seems pretty loaded with new and old options for this upcoming season. The Red Sox also spent some money to help improve their bullpen in free agency.
There were quite a few injuries that struck the Red Sox rotation last season, which Winckowski benefited from by getting the call up to the majors. We saw both good and bad from his 15 games in Boston. However, what we didn’t see might have told a better story.
We had a chance to talk with Josh on our SoxSpects Podcast back in October after the season ended, which he shed some light on his first major league season and what went on behind the scenes:
“Fans don’t understand how important it is for position players to get consistent at bats… I think the same can be said for pitchers. I’ve seen a lot of stuff from the fans about the pitchers who came up from AAA this past year like, Seabold was terrible, Winckowski was terrible, Crawford wasn’t quite like we thought he would be. There are a lot of things the fans don’t see.
I had a stretch out there for Boston and I had three outings in a row and all three outings were not on my scheduled day. You throw bullpens on certain days to prepare for specific days. It’s not an excuse but there were times last year I had to drive to Boston from Worcester on the day of my start.
My first game back from the COVID IL, I started Tuesday, and I rejoined the team on Monday. I had to do whatever I could at home to stay ready when I couldn’t really interact or be around anybody. Fans just didn’t get to see those parts.”
Other items included in the interview with Josh were his high praise for Reese Mcguire and Connor Wong, the pitching clock this year, and many other noteworthy items to listen to.
Winckowski is the third youngest pitcher on Boston’s 40-man roster, only behind Brayan Bello and Bryan Mata. The pitching staff looks to be much improved on paper heading into the season. Winckowski and other guys like Seabold to have fallen into the next man up category. It would be no surprise to see Winckowski latch on to the opening day roster, which will be in flux with guys coming back from injuries.
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