Josh Winckowski had never pitched in a big league spring training game. Up until this season, he had never even been allowed to hang out with the major leaguers as a back-up plan.
"I have never pitched in a (spring training) major league game. I had never even gone over to the complex," the 22-year-old told WEEI.com of his previous spring trainings, which all took place as a member of the Blue Jays. "Sometimes it will be 7:30 in the morning and your buddy has to go over in the stadium so you’re really excited for him and he ends up getting some innings. But I never even went over to the big league side once. The only time I got to mingle with the big league guys is when they were down for rehab. Other than that, there wasn’t a lot of time with the big league guys."
Times have changed for Winckowski.
The pitcher who was came to the Red Sox along with outfielder Franchy Cordero in exchange for Andrew Benintendi got his big chance Sunday, serving as the Sox reliever after starter Garrett Richards.
Winckowski -- who went to high school just 20 minutes down the road from JetBlue Park -- cruised in his Grapefruit League debut.
The righty, whose fastball lived in the mid-90's, got Travis d'Arnaud on a weak grounder back to the mound, struck out Dansby Swanson and induced a soft pop-up to left field off the bat of Austin Riley.
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Winckowski, a 15th-round pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, has excelled each step of his professional career, most recently turning in a 2.32 ERA in 13 starts for Single-A Lansing in 2019.
"I saw him, I was standing right next to him when he was warming up," said Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes. "The ball was coming out good. obviously that was a really good inning. Commanded the ball in the zone, got ahead of guys, attacked hitters, he looks like he’s got firm good stuff. It looks like the ball jumps out of his hand. He has a heavy fastball. Velocity from behind and in the bullpen warming up, obviously the results speak for themselves at the game today. It looks like he’s got really good stuff."
To read more about Winckowski, click here.
The other piece of the deal for the Red Sox, Cordero, is still easing his way into camp after going through COVID-19 protocols.
