Red Sox' Josh Winckowski working with Andrew Bailey on new pitching philosophy
Josh Winckowski will stretch out as a starter heading into spring training this season.
Red Sox reliever Josh Winckowski enjoyed a breakout season pitching out of the bullpen for Alex Cora.
The right-hander recorded a 2.88 ERA in 60 appearances with three saves, proving to be a high-level asset before going to closer Kenley Jansen in the ninth inning.
Even though Winckowski enjoyed a strong season in the bullpen, the Red Sox may have a different vision for the righty in 2024.
“(Winckowski is) somebody that towards the end of the season I viewed more as a reliever than a starter, but with the information provided and the new group, there’s a new vision with him,” Cora said to reporters at the GM Meetings. “I’m not saying he’s going to be a starter but he’s a guy that can go multiple innings with his stuff and the characteristics of his pitches against lefties and righties. So stretch everybody out, that’s what they’re working at and we’ll see what happens in the upcoming weeks and months.”
Red Sox to Develop Internal Options
With chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and new pitching coach Andrew Bailey in the fold, the organization is looking at how they can develop the internal pitching options on the roster.
Bailey and Breslow have already begun to share their new philosophies with the pitchers in-house including Winckowski.
“There’s definitely a big shift,” Winckowski told reporters during Red Sox Winter Weekend. “There’s been a lot already in throwing programs. Trying some new things and having a lot of conversations.”
One of Bailey’s key philosophies is his pitchers throwing strikes. It may sound like common sense, which it is, but for the Red Sox, attacking the strike zone will be the focus up and down the organization.
“For us, outs are made in zone,” Bailey said at Winter Weekend. “We want to help educate our pitchers on what makes them unique, relative to other pitchers around the league.”
Unlocking Winckowski’s Potential as a Starter?
For Winckowski, the team is digging into the nuance of analytics to bring the hurler to the next level. That could be in the form of being a starter in the future.
“Digging deep on the analytical side,” Winckowski said. “The conversations with Bailey so far have been really good. They’ve been quite productive.”
Breslow feels Winckowski has untapped potential and that he has the raw ingredients to make a successful starter at the big league level.
Someone who can get both righties and lefties out, someone who can maintain their stuff deeper into a game, (throws) enough strikes that they can work efficiently to get deep into the game and we see all of those with Winck,” Breslow said. “Now that we’ve started to build up the pitching infrastructure around our guys and have had a chance for Andrew Bailey and Justin Willard to get a look as well, they see some opportunities for optimization and it feels like it makes sense to give that some runway and build him out with an eye on starting.”
With the Red Sox only adding Lucas Giolito and Cooper Criswell to MLB deals this winter, the club appears to be focused on utilizing the in-house pitchers to begin to take the next steps. If Boston fails to add more starters prior to spring training, it appears Winckowski will be stretching out to be a starter in Fort Myers and likely starting the season in Worcester, atop of their rotation.
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