Red Sox Shockingly Demote Hurler With 3.33 ERA After Three-Year Stint In Boston

Boston made a move few would've seen coming

Scott Neville | May 12, 2024

May 2, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Josh Winckowski (25) throws a pitch / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox were able to overcome an early deficit and defeat the Washington Nationals 4-2 on Saturday afternoon but the comeback victory was not the biggest story to come out of Fenway Park.

The Red Sox sent a player down that appeared to be a season-long roster lock -- especially given the hurler's quality start to the 2024 campaign.

"Josh Winckowski has been optioned to Worcester to make room for Brayan Bello’s activation Sunday," MassLive's Sean McAdam reported Saturday.

Winckowski has a 3.33 ERA with a 19-to-11 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .281 batting average against and a 1.56 WHIP in 24 1/3 innings.

The 25-year-old was allowing plenty of traffic on the basepaths but was able to prevail a good majority of the time. His swingman role has been largely helpful to an injury-laden pitching staff and many would have assumed his spot on the roster was safer than the likes of Cooper Criswell, Cam Booser, Zack Kelly and arguably Chase Anderson.

Winckowski posted a 2.88 ERA last season and was a pivotal multi-inning reliever who saw plenty of high-leverage spots toward the end of the 2023 campaign.

Some have speculated that Winckowski is not adjusting well to pitching coach Andrew Bailey's leadership but his on-field results at the minimum warrent a roster spot.

With that said, Winckowski's time in Worcester will almost certainly be limited as he'll be thrust into a next-man up role -- similar to how Brennan Bernardino began the year.

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Published May 12, 2024

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu