Right-hander Tanner Houck was lit up by the Tigers last night, the latest chapter in a very frustrating season. In the aftermath of the game, manager Álex Cora wouldn’t commit to Houck getting another start. “We’ll talk about it, of course,” Cora said, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. “I’ve got to take a look at the video and we’ve got to see what we’re gonna do. Right now, it’s too fresh. It’s too quick. We have to take a look at it and see if it’s mechanical, usage, or where we’re at.”
Houck only lasted 2 1/3 innings last night, but he allowed 11 earned runs in that time on three walks and nine hits, including two home runs. He did not record a strikeout. Shockingly, that was his second time this year allowing 11 earned runs in a start, the first coming against the Rays on April 14th.
For the whole season, he now has an 8.04 earned run average in 43 2/3 innings. It’s a sea change relative to last season. After years of oscillating between the rotation and the bullpen, he seemingly established himself as a bonafide starter in 2024. He took the ball 30 times for the Sox and logged 178 2/3 innings with a 3.12 ERA. His 20.7% strikeout rate was a tad below average but he had a solid 6.5% walk rate and strong 55.9% ground ball rate.
Everything has gone in the wrong direction so far this year. His walk rate has climbed marginally to 8.4% but his strikeouts are down to a 15.8% clip while he’s only getting grounders 48.3% of the time.
It’s a bit of a mystery as Houck says he can’t find anything physically wrong, which is backed up by the data. His velocity is actually higher than last year. For whatever reason, his splitter is way less effective, which seems to be a big part of the problem. Opponents hit .194 against it last year with a .264 slugging percentage, but those numbers are up to .425 and .475 this year. His sweeper has also declined in impact, though to a lesser degree. That pitch allowed a .230 average and .357 slug last year but .305 and .492 this year.
As Cora laid out, it’s a puzzle they will have to solve, though they may not let Houck work it out in the rotation. Currently, the club is also giving starts to Garrett Crochet, Lucas Giolito, Brayan Bello and Hunter Dobbins. Giolito is the only one in that group with an ERA above 2.78, and he’s only made three starts since coming off the IL.
The Sox also have reinforcements on the way. Walker Buehler, Richard Fitts and Kutter Crawford are each on the IL and making progress towards returning to the club. Buehler landed on the IL earlier this month due to shoulder bursitis but is expected back next week without a rehab assignment. Fitts and Crawford are a bit further away but both have been throwing lately and appear to be nearing rehab assignments. Fitts landed on the IL a month ago due to a right pectoral strain. Crawford has been on the IL all year due to patellar tendinopathy in his right knee.
As those guys return, it will be harder for Houck to continue holding a spot unless he can turn things around. That’s if the Sox even give him another start, which doesn’t seem to be guaranteed. In addition to those injury returnees, there’s also Sean Newcomb, who did a huge solid for the Sox last night. After Houck exited, he absorbed 5 2/3 innings with two earned runs allowed. He now has a 3.51 ERA on the year, working both as a starter and reliever. Cooper Criswell and Josh Winckowski are on the 40-man and putting up good numbers in Triple-A.
Given how good Houck was last year, the Sox might be tempted into giving him a chance to work it out. However, they are currently in the midst of a super tight playoff race and can only afford so much patience. Houck has had previous success as a reliever, so perhaps they could kick him back there. But on the other hand, he has clear upside as a mid-rotation starter, so perhaps they don’t want to give up on that. He does still have options and could be sent down to Triple-A to try to right the ship there. One way or another, decisions will need to be made soon.
Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze, Imagn Images
Couldnt find the A on google
Anyone know if houck allowing 11er twice in 1 yr (especially in such a short timepsan) is some kinda record?
There have only been two instances *in MLB history* where a pitcher pitched 2 1/3 innings and allowed 12 baserunners and 11 ER.
Both are Tanner Houck.
And both are this year.
Baseball
What a crazy sport
Really hung out to dry by the manager then.
Agree. Who lets a pitcher suffer through that? Of course, Tanner isn’t one of Alex’s “boys”, either.
Wade – Exactly, Cora is such an ass.
The announcers kept talking about how demoralized and dejected Houck was … can you blame him?
Cora often tries to justify moves by saying it’s for the longterm good of the player … but he’d rather leave Houck in for a pounding TWICE instead of letting his 8-man bullpen cover an extra inning?
He’s such a God-awful manager.
Shawn – With all due respect, that’s wrong.
Colby Lewis gave up 13 hits and 11 ER in 2 1/3 innings against the Angels 07/10/14.
Fever Pitch – That’s not 12 baserunners. EXACTLY 12 baserunners and EXACTLY 11 earned runs.
Shawn – Haha …. okay “exactly” makes a difference ;O)
I didn’t know that, cool bit of trivia … thank you!
I feel like Jason Marquis probably did it. Or Jose Lima.
hole – I know which game you’re thinking of ….. Marquis did give up 13 runs against the White Sox, but it was over more innings.
Yep, good ole LaRussa left him in there to get slaughtered.
It’s location… He has velocity and spin, but the splitter is staying up and the sweeper is going wide. Too few strikes, a predominance of hitters counts, and predictably bad results.
…though I would never have predicted results THIS bad.
He needs a couple weeks in the minors to find his touch again?
Trade him while his value hasn’t totally cratered
Houck to the O’s for Stowers and Norby… who says no?
I’d say the Orioles say no. They need a sure fire starter not a work in progress guy that needs to fix his mechanics.
The Marlins say no. Stowers and Norby are their guys….
You don’t trade him when has such little present value compared to last year. No one is giving much for a great arm that has to be fixed. That’s when you buy low. I’d have a talk with him and try to get him to understand it’s in his interest to go to Worcester and work without pressure although his agent won’t agree…
He’d be a great buy low candidate for the O’s though
Houck for Oswaldo Cabrera and Spencer Jones… who says no?
Probably both since Stowers and Norby are on the Marlins.
Wait – He pitched in only 4 ST games, and in the last one gave up 10 ER and 12 hits and 2 walks in just 3 2/3 innings. So it was obvious there were concerns heading into the season.
Sure… Well those concerns haven’t gone away. Feels like we don’t know the whole story here.
It would take some time but I could definitely pull evidence of me saying he should have been traded after last season at his peak value because he threw 40% sliders and 30% splitters and it was WHEN not IF his arm fell off and the disastrous results that usually precede a major surgery
The post game comments are the most concerning to me. It sounds like he’s just checked out.
And his mannerisms give the impression that he doesn’t really care. I know he cares, but he needs some fire. He always looks like he’s in line at the grocery store wishing he was somewhere else.
Maybe a few starts at AAA can get him going. In the meantime, let the Dobbins Era begin!!
swan – I’m definitely looking forward to today’s game to see how he does against the 3rd-best offense in MLB!
So far he’s been dominant against two crappy offenses (Royals & ChiSox), bad against one crappy offense (Twins) and mediocre against one mediocre offense (Cards).
He’s going against Skubal today so he should be pumped!!
Newcomb probably earned a start or 2 thanks to last night.
Yeah, I realize the game was all but over and there was nothing to play for-save pride, which means something- but he pitched well, all in all.
With devastating injuries to Casas and Tatum (no, I’m not saying Casas’ injury equals that of Tatum, big picture wise- far from it- the C’s will now likely enter trade and rebuild mode this off season), the Devers v Sox brass drama in full view, the Bruins being a laughing stock, and Patriots being the lone (very) flickering light, it’s been a rough go for us Boston fans, so while Newcomb’s performance last night means little in the long run, it’s at least something not horribly negative to focus on…
Maybe there is hope to get Giannis for the Cs instead of full rebuild.
Smk – I always have hope.
KC and Hamilton seem to have snapped out of their slumps, Bello is pitching well, Abreu is having a monster season, Chapman has been dominant… lots of positives. They just need to fire Cora and let the hitters swing to contact and stop chasing.
Hey, Cora, maybe take out your guy after he gives up 5 runs instead of 11. The managing of Houck has been very bad and I feel extremely bad for him, even if his arm is not as good. Cora has not been helping the mental side of Houck’s game.
Cora didn’t even get a guy up in the bullpen until it was 9-0. Cora needs to go for the Red Sox to have a chance to make a run at the playoffs. He has no clue how to Manage a staff….
By far one of the most Overrated Managers in Baseball.
Coop – Well said! And Cora is the cause of the Devers fiasco.
Do y’all realize last off-season Cora said Devers was excellent at 3B including going to his left. What a load of crap!! Cora knows the stats, what he said was a boldface lie.
Is it any wonder that Devers thought he was doing well?
Wait – Exactly! Especially for Cora to say specifically that Devers was great ranging to his left … that was his biggest weakness, as Loumer pointed out Raffy is a -11 on ranging to his left.
The Fangraphs article is really well written.
Minors until he figures it out.
Joe – Houck has 2 options remaining, and he has under 5 years of MLB service time, so that is something the Red Sox could do.
Could do and absolutely should do
What are apartments going for in Wochester?
If Houck has options remaining send him down when Buehler comes back, if not bullpen til he figures out whatever his problem his
Rsox – He does have an option left.
Houck is a real problem. He was counted on for a good season and he looks completely lost. The biggest difference is lefties are killing him his right handed performance is ok but that split isn’t filling lefties anymore. If you throw from his arm angle lefties are going to get a good look at your pitches and you need that splitter or change to keep them honest. I’m not sure what the solution is at this point but it’s a real problem and it weakens the depth in this rotation.
I do think that Dobby, Fitts, and probably Drohan can fill in at the back of the rotation we absolutely need Buehler back and healthy and perhaps Bello can step up and become that # 2 type starter with Buehler. It hurts not to have Houck at his best but there is a lot of depth. First base is a much bigger issue imo.
Drohan just got placed on the 7 day IL unfortunately however Doubins and Fitts ( DICK FITTS!) should be able to fill in.
Forearm tightness brutal. He was dealing didn’t know why he was out so quick the last game I watched now I know. Connelly Early called up?
Bruin – I’m not worried, they’ve got solid depth at starting pitching. Fitts and Crawford coming back, maybe even Buehler can give some 4 ERA pitching eventually. They’ll be fine. It’s only the bullpen, hitting and fielding that are concerns.
He’s been great until this year
They just need to figure out what’s different
And if he is hiding any injury he won’t admit to
Mike – He was bad 2nd half of last year. Everyone thought it was just fatigue.
Where the hell is Bailey in all this? He needs to get his ass in gear and help these guys.
Id say its time to move Houck to the bullpen. As soon as they can plug the rotation.
Its now:
Crochet
Bello
Buehler
Giolito
Crawford
Dobbins
Newcomb
Fitts
Whitlock
Criswell
Winkowski
They have plenty of depth, they have the prospects to add a starter in trade, but do trade them knowing the team has turmoil in the clubhouse or do you ride with whats in place and wait until ’26 to address major changes in the roster?
Whitlock isn’t going back to starting.
He would honestly be a good candidate to should he find a new employer, he has a nice contract, 3 years / 26M of club options. I would think there could be a few teams interested in stretching Whitlock out to start ballgames.
How about Devers and Whitlock to the Yankees for Garrett Cole.
That would be an interesting trade.
miller – Devers owns Cole, between that and Raffy’s justified animosity toward Sox management he would absolutely crush Sox pitching.
Lets hope Raffy ends up with an NL team like the Dodgers, Mets or Phillies. Keep him out of the AL or at least the AL East.
Sure, if Cole was healthy. Otherwise, -0- chance of that happening.
He says he’ll be back June of ’26, you’d get 2.5 seasons of Cole on his current deal. Yankees would add Whitlock who could start for them this season and Devers who would fit in at third base and make the Yankees offense the best in MLB.
If Im the Yankees Id make that trade. Can Boston do better?
miller – Yes the Yankees would make the trade, but the Sox hopefully wouldn’t. That’s a hefty back end of Cole’s contract and at his age who knows if he’ll even be a #1 starter when he returns. Sox would be paying him $54M for his recovery through 2026 and then $72M for his Age 36-37 seasons …. unless you’re saying the Yanks would pay about $100M towards his salary?
Raffy will definitely bring back more on his own, some team will have him play first base and enjoy his .900 OPS bat.
Cole is get paid $135M for approximately 2.5 good seasons. That’s $54M per, and with no guarantees. Even without the injury, he would still be almost 36 when he starts contributing again.
I’m quite happy with Devers. He has a .962 OPS since the end of March. I’m more than happy with the CBT $29M * 9 contract. That’s a steal compared to Soto and Vlad.
Wouldn’t be that good of a trade for Boston.
Hban – Not this year, but next year. He’s sucking as a reliever, doesn’t have the velo or movement to be a reliever.
Trade him to the Mets. They will have him fixed within two weeks.
Dobbins deserves Houcks spot in the rotation. At least he keeps the team competitive in his starts and isn’historically awful. Launch Houck into low orbit, or Worcester. Either way.
I know it’s been different lately but most of Houcks career he has been solid for 4-5 innings. I wonder if a different roll would suit him better than starter.
Cap – I don’t think so. It’s not that Houck is tiring in games, he’s getting pounded at the very beginning of games.
Since the bullpen had been horrible… add some more gas (Houck) to the fire. Why did Cora leave Weissert in? He barely got out of the previous inning. That loss tonight was killer…
New – Because Cora sucks at bullpen management. He should have left Slaten in longer, should have left Wilson in longer, should have saved Chapman for extra innings, and where the hell was Liam? He hasn’t pitched since Saturday.
Cora ran out of pitchers despite using only one reliever Monday … inexcusable.
Houck was effective out of the pen in 2021-2022. Let him figure it out there.
The joke Sox. That’s all i have to say. Yesterday was so bad. Cora still hasn’t been fired and Bello is useless if he can’t go at least 5 innings. What a joke
Imagine thinking “the joke Sox” was a good insult.
I don’t understand the play on words there. Substituting ‘Red” with ‘Joke’?
I can have my own humor, can I? I think you get the point.
Last year you were all talking about how much Houck was an ace
BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA
Houck ain’t the problem. The bigger issue is Cora. He makes poor decisions and costs us one run games. You need those one run games.
This team is deja vu all over again. The .500 Sox
I’m curious. Which one of our posters referred to him as an ‘ace’?
Cora the Destroya
Houck ain’t the problem.
==========================
So the dude with the 8.04 ERA is not a problem?
One bad start inflated his ERA, I think he will be fine in the end.
Posters heavily implied Houck was an “ace” from what I read. It’s not common knowledge that Boston fans are the flakiest fans. As soon as something goes wrong, they have an issue. Yankees are the same way. Don’t know hot from cold.
Take me for example. I was a huge supporter of Alex Cora. Now the guy has to go.
I apologize for the negativity but I’m sick of this .500 BS job. I’m angry that the Sox are following the same path over and over again. It’s been long enough of a season to know it’s happening again.
You are looking at Houck as if he’s the only issue on this team. It goes much deeper than that and Cora needs to be fired. We need a new direction because it’s ludicrous how a roster like this is playing .500 ball. That’s the main problem
This team seems to headed toward mediocrity again, and Cora seems to be in lala land. They seem to be taking turns screwing games up. Guys in the pen look bad almost nightly. Enough is enough! They are lucky the Yanks are not running away with this thing.
Bad – Agreed, once the Yanks get back some of their injured guys they will be very tough …. and they always make impact trades at the deadline, unlike the Sox.
The way it’s going, seems like the Sox will soon be a few games under .500 until the All-Star break and then Anthony & Mayer will be called up to give them a spark.
It will be very interesting to see what they do at the deadline if they are 5 or so games back of a playoff spot.
Fortunately, Yankees just aren’t that good either. Sox are beating themselves though
I don’t get why Chapman keeps coming in in the 9th on tied games…..If we are going to continue to loose in extras than why not give it up in the 9th and blow it then instead of taxing more bullpen arms. Chapman should come in with the lead in extras…. they need the strike out stuff then with a man on second and no outs. I have never bashed on Cora, but im leaning with most others on here with his inability to mange a bullpen and why on earth would he continue to leave Houck out to take a beating. The game is early and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out with Houck when it going to be a nightmare!
AK – That’s exactly what I’ve been saying all year!
It’s common sense, you want your best strikeout pitcher covering extra innings when there’s always a ghost runner on second base leading off the inning. But Cora the moron keeps bringing in Chapman in the 9th inning of tie games …. dumb, dumb, dumb!!
The Red Sox have the 2nd-worst record in 1-run games in all of MLB, that’s 100% on the manager because the back end of the bullpen is pretty good ….. Cora is just mismanaging it.
As for Houck, no SP should be left in after giving up at least 6 runs in less than 3 innings. All Cora cares about is saving his 8 relievers, he doesn’t give a damn about the damage it causes the SP.
I think you’re right on Chapman, but wrong on Houck.
On Houck, he fell apart real suddenly. He was still only down 3-0, and in a space of 25 pitches, he allowed 7 baserunners. I assume that RPs probably need at least that many pitches to warm up. That might only be 5-6 minutes.
And I would make a case that bringing in your BP that early is a negative in any case. I don’t want to embarrass a guy, but I don’t want to burn out the BP either.
Why is Cora still employed? They get him a legit front end pitcher ( Crochette ) big right hand bat ( Bergman) got lucky with the closer but he’s playing out his a$$ ( Chapman ) . They are still 500. Fire him already and the hitting coach. Another question who is evaluating the pitching? Obviously Sale had something left in the tank. Pivetta is pitching out of his level . Regardless Pivetta was always solid and now we Walker Buehler.
Fitts is an American Beauty.