Tanner Houck

Red Sox Could Trade From Rotation After Suárez Deal

By Anthony Franco | January 16, 2026 at 10:05am CDT

The Red Sox went big with their first free agent signing of the winter, adding Ranger Suárez for five years and $130MM on Wednesday. That followed trade acquisitions of Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo, meaning the Sox could enter the season having replaced 60% of their rotation.

Even with Lucas Giolito departing in free agency, the Red Sox have eight to ten viable options. They’ll be anchored at the top end by Garrett Crochet, Suárez and Gray. It’s unlikely that Boston would flip Oviedo within a few months of giving up a reasonably well-regarded outfield prospect (Jhostynxon Garcia) to acquire him. Beyond that, the Sox could dangle any of their starters on the trade market.

Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic and Sean McAdam of MassLive each wrote this week that a rotation trade was a possibility. The Sox don’t need to force one unless overwhelmed by an offer. Starting pitching depth can quickly thin, and most of Boston’s back-end arms have minor league options remaining. They can load up the rotation at Triple-A Worcester to prepare for injuries over the course of a 162-game schedule.

On the other hand, dealing a starter could get the Sox their finishing piece in the infield. They lost the bidding for Alex Bregman, leaving them short at least one player on the dirt. Even if they’re comfortable turning the hot corner to Marcelo Mayer, they don’t have a clear answer at second base. They don’t want to take Ceddanne Rafaela out of center field, where he’s one of the best defenders in the sport. Kristian Campbell struggled defensively as a rookie, and it seems the organization prefers him in the outfield. A platoon of David Hamilton and Romy Gonzalez is underwhelming for a win-now team in a competitive division.

If the Suárez signing was their one big free agent move in the budget, the Red Sox should find a way to add an infielder on the trade front. The Sox were tied to Ketel Marte before the Diamondbacks pulled him from the market. They’ve been linked to Brendan Donovan, although Ari Alexander of 7 Boston News suggests they’d prefer a right-handed bat and thus may not be as motivated as some other teams on Donovan (e.g. Giants, Mariners).

The Red Sox have been tied to Houston third baseman Isaac Paredes throughout the winter. Astros GM Dana Brown has downplayed the club’s interest in moving an infielder, but that hasn’t stopped teams from calling. Brian McTaggart of MLB.com wrote this week that teams continue to engage the Astros to see if they can change their minds on Paredes. Houston has added a pair of potential mid-rotation starters, Mike Burrows and Tatsuya Imai, but they remain light on controllable starting pitching.

Let’s take a run through the possibilities if chief baseball officer Craig Breslow does move a starter.

Payton Tolle/Connelly Early

If the Sox deal from their rotation, these would be their two most valuable trade chips. Tolle and Early both debuted late in the 2025 season. Early was very good over four abbreviated starts. Tolle struggled over seven appearances, but that’s not going to deter teams from having interest in a 23-year-old who pitched his way to the big leagues within his first full professional season.

Tolle and Early respectively rank as the Sox’s top and third-best prospects at Baseball America. Tolle has bigger stuff, averaging 97 MPH on a heater that plays up even further based on his excellent extension and above-average life at the top of the zone. Early also gets good extension and has fantastic secondary stuff, headlined by a plus changeup. His 94 MPH fastball is closer to average, but he’s a superior strike-thrower to Tolle.

Both pitchers have six years of club control and a trio of minor league options. Teams are loath to part with starters who have this level of talent. It’s unlikely the Sox would trade either pitcher for a player who is a year from free agency. Would they entertain it for a controllable star hitter? McCaffrey and McAdam both floated the possibility of the Sox trying to reengage with Arizona on Marte by dangling one of Tolle or Early alongside an outfielder like Jarren Duran or Rafaela. Even if the Diamondbacks are committed to moving forward with Marte, the general idea is that the Sox would only move one of their most talented starters for an impact bat.

Brayan Bello

Bello will make $6MM next season and is signed for a total of $50.5MM over the next four years. There’s a club option for 2030 that gives the Sox a fifth season of control. Bello would be locked into the fourth starter role if he’s not traded. The 26-year-old righty has briefly come up in conversations this offseason, albeit with uncertainty about how willing the Sox are to move him.

Last season, Bello ranked second on the team with 166 2/3 innings. He turned in a 3.35 earned run average but didn’t have as favorable reviews from estimators like FIP (4.19) and SIERA (4.55). That’s due to a career-low 17.7% strikeout rate. Bello’s 8.6% swinging strike percentage was also a personal low and ranked in the bottom 25 among all MLB pitchers (min. 100 innings pitched). It’s difficult to maintain mid-rotation results with that level of swing and miss.

Bello has good velocity, averaging 95 MPH on his sinker and four-seam fastball. The sinker is the better of the two offerings, and he leans on it more as a ground-ball pitch than one that gets a lot of whiffs. While Bello has missed more bats in previous seasons, he has always had more of a ground-ball approach. There’s volatility baked into that, and the Sox don’t project to have a great infield defense behind him. Bello is probably closer to a league average arm than the ERA would indicate. That’s still valuable at the remaining $12.625MM average annual value on his contract. Notably, if the Sox chose to move Bello, they’d be trimming what’s currently a $9.166MM luxury hit from their current books (the overall AAV of his extension, which covers the 2024-29 seasons).

Kutter Crawford/Patrick Sandoval

Both pitchers missed the entire 2025 season. Crawford, who is signed for $2.75MM in his second of four arbitration years, began the year on the shelf with right knee discomfort. He injured his right wrist a couple months later and underwent surgery. Crawford had been a swingman for his first couple seasons but stepped into a full-time rotation role in 2024. He pitched well for a few months until a second-half home run spike pushed his ERA to 4.36 across 183 2/3 innings.

Crawford had slightly above-average strikeout and walk marks a couple seasons ago. The home runs and injury history are concerns, but he’s cheaply controllable through 2028 and could be a league average starter if he’s healthy. He also has a pair of minor league options, so there’s a decent amount of roster flexibility for the Sox or any team that acquires him. He’s well behind Tolle, Early and Bello in terms of trade value but would have some appeal if the Sox tried to swap him for a utility infielder or controllable bullpen piece.

The Sox knew that Sandoval was unlikely to pitch much (if at all) in 2025 when they signed him to a two-year, $18.25MM contract early in his rehab from June ’24 Tommy John surgery. They backloaded the deal, paying $5.5MM for his rehab year and a $12.75MM salary for the upcoming season. The 29-year-old Sandoval was a mid-rotation starter over his final three seasons as a member of the Angels. He pitched to a 3.84 ERA with a 21.9% strikeout rate in nearly 400 innings between 2022-24. His command is fringy but he sits around 94 MPH and has above-average secondaries with his changeup and slider.

Boston may not want to trade Sandoval for a modest return after paying more than $5MM to cover his rehab year. The front office liked him enough to sign him to that deal in the first place. Yet the rotation picture has changed, and Sandoval’s five-plus years of service mean he can’t be sent to the minors. They might be better off trusting Oviedo or Crawford as the fifth starter and getting some of Sandoval’s contract off the books for a utility or bullpen pickup.

Kyle Harrison

Of the players acquired from the Giants in the Rafael Devers trade, Harrison was probably the centerpiece. The deal was mostly about moving on from Devers and shedding his contract. The Sox kept Harrison in Triple-A for much of the ’25 season even as their rotation was being hit by injuries. They finally brought him up in September. Harrison pitched well over his first two outings before getting knocked around in his third. The Sox carried him on their Wild Card Series roster but didn’t use him, opting instead to go with the rookie Early in a must-win Game 3.

Harrison has a decent arm, sitting in the 94-95 MPH range. His secondary stuff and command have been inconsistent, and he owns a 4.39 ERA across 194 2/3 career innings. Harrison is under club control for at least five seasons and has a pair of options remaining. There’d be plenty of teams interested if the Sox shopped him, but his stock has dropped since he was one of the sport’s top pitching prospects a couple seasons ago. Boston is probably better served holding him and hoping for a step forward in his age-24 season.

Tanner Houck

An offseason Houck trade wouldn’t accomplish much and feels unlikely. He’s coming off a terrible year that culminated in an August Tommy John procedure. He’s expected to miss the ’26 season and would have minimal appeal to another team. Houck agreed to a $4.1MM salary to avoid arbitration and should make the same amount for his final year of club control . They can place him on the 60-day injured list once Spring Training opens.

Red Sox Likely To Tender Contract To Tanner Houck

By Darragh McDonald | November 17, 2025 at 3:12pm CDT

The Red Sox are planning to tender a contract to right-hander Tanner Houck, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive. The club has until Friday evening to change its mind but it seems they are planning to keep Houck on the roster.

Friday at 7pm Central is the deadline for clubs to decide whether or not to tender contracts to pre-arbitration and arbitration-eligible players. Teams and players don’t need to decide on a salary by that date. They have until January 8th to file salary figures. But the team needs to make a decision by Friday as to whether they are committed to paying the player or not. If the player is still on the roster beyond the deadline, the team will have to eventually pay him something, with various outcomes still possible at that point. A non-tender on Friday allows the team to walk away without paying anything.

Houck is arguably a borderline case on account of his health. He just had Tommy John surgery in August. He will likely miss the entire 2026 season. He can be retained via arbitration through 2027, at which point he is slated for free agency.

With 2026 likely to be a recovery year for Houck, the decision is more about 2027. The Sox could pay him for the 2026 season, hoping that the investment pays off in the following year. That’s something that teams often do in free agency. Pitchers recovering from surgery often sign two-year pacts, with the signing team knowing that they are probably only going to get meaningful return on investment in the second year, while the player banks a bit of cash while recovering.

The Sox themselves did this last offseason, as they signed Patrick Sandoval to a two-year, $18.25MM deal. The lefty didn’t pitch for the Sox in 2025 but they will hopefully get something out of him next year. Other pitchers got similar deals recently. Shane Bieber got $26MM from the Guardians last winter, for instance, with an opt-out halfway through. A year earlier, Tyler Mahle got $22MM from the Rangers, with no opt-out. The Brewers gave Brandon Woodruff two years and $17.5MM when he was recovering from shoulder surgery.

Investing in Houck will cost less than that. He made $3.95MM in 2025, his first of three arbitration seasons. He only made nine starts in 2025 due to his arm issues but players going through arb usually see their salaries hold fairly steady when they miss significant time. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Houck for the same $3.95MM salary in 2026. If he stays on the roster and is tendered a contract for 2027 as well, he would likely end up in the same range again.

Essentially, tendering Houck a contract for the next two years will probably cost the Red Sox about $8MM total. They could also walk away after 2026 if he experiences some sort of setback, cutting their losses. The roughly $8MM would be less than half of what they paid to Sandoval and the guarantees of those other aforementioned deals. Houck doesn’t have the same track record as those guys but has shown plenty of potential, particularly in 2024 when he logged 178 2/3 innings with a 3.12 earned run average, 20.7% strikeout rate, 6.5% walk rate and 55.9% ground ball rate.

If the Sox were to non-tender Houck, it would probably suggest that they don’t expect him to fully return to that level in 2027, though there also could be other contributing factors. There’s no injured list in the offseason, so the Sox do have to keep Houck on the roster throughout the winter. Tomorrow is the deadline to add players to a 40-man roster to protect them from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. The Sox currently have a full 40-man and need to open some spots, assuming they want to add a few guys. Cotillo mentions the possibility of a lockout disrupting 2027, which could prevent the Sox from benefiting from Houck’s eventual return. However, front office still have to plan as though the season will be played, as there’s no certainty around the labor dispute right now.

The Sox currently have Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello under club control through at least 2030. Other than that, there’s not a ton of certainty. Kutter Crawford has posted decent results and should be in the mix. He’s under club control through 2028. The aforementioned Sandoval is signed for just one more year. Guys like Connelly Early, Payton Tolle and Kyle Harrison are in the mix but still aren’t proven big leaguers. The Sox plan to add to the rotation this offseason but haven’t done so yet.

Even if a pitching staff looks good on paper, injuries are always inevitable, so it’s anyone’s guess what the depth will look like by the time Houck is back on a big league mound. He has also had some success as a reliever, so perhaps there’s a scenario where he gets pushed to the bullpen, especially if there are workload concerns in the coming years. Time will tell how it plays out but it appears the Sox would like the payoff to be with Houck pitching in Boston.

Photo courtesy of Rick Osentoski, Imagn Images

Tanner Houck To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

By Leo Morgenstern | August 2, 2025 at 12:13pm CDT

Red Sox starting pitcher Tanner Houck will undergo Tommy John surgery. Manager Alex Cora broke the bad news to reporters today, including Christopher Smith of MassLive. The right-hander has been on the injured list since mid-May with a flexor pronator strain, and he was recently transferred to the 60-day IL after the team pulled him off a rehab assignment. Even in a best-case scenario, he will not return to the Red Sox until late in the 2026 season, and possibly not until 2027.

Boston’s first pick (24th overall) in 2017, Houck pitched well for the Sox from 2020-22 (3.02 ERA, 3.50 SIERA in 146 IP). Yet, rotation battles and a bad back kept him from earning a full-time job in the starting five until 2023, and a terrifying liner to the face that summer kept him from pitching his first full season until 2024. It proved to be a year worth waiting for, however, as Houck made 30 starts with a 3.12 ERA and earned an All-Star selection that summer.

Houck came into the 2025 season as Boston’s number two starter, but he struggled badly over the first six weeks of the year. He pitched to an 8.04 ERA with a 15.8% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate through nine starts. Those numbers were heavily affected by two different outings in which he gave 11 earned runs and failed to escape the third inning. In fact, as MLBTR noted back in May, “If those two games were scratched from the register, his ERA would drop to 3.92, and his strikeout and walk rates would look much closer to what they were last season.” That said, to overlook two starts of such poor quality would be a mistake. Something was clearly wrong.

Houck began a rehab assignment in mid-June. While he wasn’t particularly sharp in his first three rehab outings, he looked much better in the latter two, tossing a total of 9 1/3 innings while giving up just one run on six hits and two walks. He struck out 10. In his outing against the Rochester Red Wings on July 9, he averaged close to 95 mph on his sinker, topping out at 96.8. Yet, he has not pitched since. He suffered a setback, either during that start or sometime shortly after, and the Red Sox officially returned him from his rehab assignment on July 19. MLB.com’s Ian Browne reported at the time that the issue was most likely “a recurrence of the right pronator strain” that landed him on the IL in the first place.

Earlier this week, Chris Cotillo of MassLive reported that Houck was seeking more opinions on his arm. A couple of days later, the Red Sox transferred him to the 60-day IL, making room for trade acquisition Dustin May on the 40-man roster. Houck had already missed more than 60 days, so the move itself said nothing about his timeline, but chief baseball officer Craig Breslow seemed to imply the righty could be done for the season (per Cotillo). That is indeed the case, and now the question is if he will be able to return at all in 2026. The generally accepted timeline for a pitcher to return from UCL reconstruction is 12-18 months.

Breslow’s quiet trade deadline now looks even more disappointing. May adds depth to a pitching staff that has been severely hampered by injuries this year, but he’s not a high-upside arm. His days as a top-100 prospect are a ways behind him, and he has a 4.85 ERA and 4.30 SIERA in 19 games (18 starts) this year. He is also already well past his previous career-high in innings pitched. In other words, he’s not an arm the Red Sox can feel confident about starting in the playoffs (although they very well might have to). Until today, Red Sox fans could at least dream about Houck returning late in the season, pitching like he did in 2024, and taking the ball for game two of a postseason series. Now, however, that job will likely go to either Brayan Bello or Lucas Giolito, should the Red Sox hold onto their Wild Card spot.

Tanner Houck’s Rehab Paused Due To New Pronator Strain

By Mark Polishuk | July 19, 2025 at 6:25pm CDT

Tanner Houck is being evaluated by Red Sox team doctors after sustaining “a recurrence of the right pronator strain” the right-hander initially suffered back in mid-May, MLB.com’s Ian Browne writes. Houck had pitched in five minor league games during his rehab assignment, but the Sox have now officially returned him from that assignment and kept him on the 15-day injured list in order to monitor this new problem.

More will be known once Houck is through a fresh round of tests, yet if he has suffered another strain, it might entirely set his rehab back to square one. Given how he has already missed more than two months of the season, a similar recovery timeline could now threaten Houck’s availability to return before the 2025 campaign is over.

Even the best-case scenario of just a minor strain would still likely mean Houck will be sidelined for at least another month, adding to what has been a frustrating season for the right-hander. Houck had reached the 30-day end point of his initial rehab assignment and was seemingly close to being activated from the IL before this setback arose. The Red Sox will probably shift Houck to the 60-day IL at some point, which wouldn’t change his timeline (the 60-day window would start at the time of his initial placement on the 15-day) but it would allow the club to open up space on the 40-man roster.

A breakout 2024 season seemingly cemented Houck’s place in the Boston rotation, as Houck posted a 3.12 ERA and 6.5% walk rate over 178 2/3 innings. Most of his secondary metrics didn’t back up that strong bottom-line ERA, however, and as Browne noted, most of Houck’s success came in the first half of the 2024 campaign. The hurler’s late struggles then got several degrees worse in 2025, when Houck posted an 8.04 ERA in his first nine starts and 43 2/3 innings.

Getting Houck back before the trade deadline wouldn’t have really altered Boston’s plan to acquire starting pitching, yet getting a change to gauge Houck’s effectiveness in a start or two would’ve given the Sox a bit more information before jumping into the trade market.

Looking at Boston’s rotation depth, Hunter Dobbins and Kutter Crawford have already been lost to season-ending injuries. Josh Winckowski has been sidelined by a flexor strain for roughly the same amount of time as Houck, and only just started a throwing progression, so Winckowski is probably a month away if all goes well in his rehab. Patrick Sandoval had internal brace surgery on his elbow last June and has moved to the point of mound work, though early September could be his target date.

This leaves Garrett Crochet, Brayan Bello, Lucas Giolito, Richard Fitts, and the struggling Walker Buehler as Boston’s starting five. Even with Kyle Harrison and Cooper Criswell available in Triple-A as backup options, getting another solid rotation piece in play at the deadline would go a long way towards helping the Sox reach the playoffs. Boston is 53-46, as yesterday’s loss to the Cubs snapped a 10-game winning streak that had brought the Red Sox back into the postseason hunt.

Red Sox Evaluating Rotation, First Base Markets

By Anthony Franco | June 27, 2025 at 11:33pm CDT

The Red Sox’s miserable week continued tonight, as they dropped the first game of their weekend set against the Blue Jays by a 9-0 score. The Sox have lost seven of 10 since trading Rafael Devers and are riding a six-game losing streak — tied with Kansas City for the longest active mark in MLB. They’ve fallen three games below .500 at 40-43.

Poorly as they’ve played of late, the Sox are only three games out of a playoff spot. They’re one of six teams within five games of the Mariners, who currently hold the final Wild Card position. The muddled American League leaves every team aside from the White Sox and A’s with at least some hope of getting hot and playing their way out of selling at the deadline. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow maintained immediately after the Devers trade that the front office still expected to operate as buyers. He took a similar approach this evening.

“I think we’ve talked a lot about looking to the future, (but) at some point, the future has to be now,” Breslow told Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. “We went into 2025 expecting to compete for the division and expecting to make it to the playoffs. We haven’t played as well as we’re capable of, but that goal still exists, and we’re not so far away that we should be thinking about 2026 or 2027.”

Breslow added that the front office is focused on “(identifying) the needs that we have” over the next month. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported that Boston was in the market for both a first baseman and rotation help. Neither is surprising. Their first base plans have been up in the air since Triston Casas sustained a season-ending knee injury. Kristian Campbell has begun playing there in Triple-A, but it’s an unfamiliar position and he hadn’t hit for two months before he was optioned. Journeyman Abraham Toro is holding the role for now. He’s hitting .278/.307/.459 with five homers across 140 trips to the plate while posting below-average defensive grades.

The rotation has been an issue outside of Garrett Crochet’s starts. Brayan Bello has managed a decent ERA despite a poor strikeout/walk profile, which continued tonight. Every other Sox starter has posted an earned run average of 4.21 or higher. Richard Fitts has an ERA pushing 5.00, while Lucas Giolito has yet to post a sub-4.00 mark in any month. Signing Walker Buehler to a one-year, $21.05MM free agent deal has proven a major misstep. Opponents have teed off on the longtime Dodger for a 6.29 ERA across 13 starts. Buehler has allowed five or more runs in four of his past five appearances.

Kyle Harrison has begun his organizational tenure on optional assignment in Triple-A. Kutter Crawford probably won’t be back this season. Hunter Dobbins recently went down with an elbow strain. Tanner Houck had an ERA north of 8.00 over nine starts before landing on the injured list with a flexor pronator strain. He began a rehab assignment at Triple-A Worcester last week. Houck didn’t complete two innings in either of his first two minor league starts. He gave up a combined five runs on as many hits and four free passes (three walks and a hit batter) while recording just two strikeouts.

The Sox announced today that Houck’s next rehab appearance will come out of the bullpen following an opener. Breslow told WEEI’s Rob Bradford that the decision doesn’t signify a long-term role change, saying they’re simply hoping to “(change) the situation a little bit, (change) his mentality a little bit.” Regardless, it has hardly been an encouraging start to the righty’s rehab work and only increases the urgency to add to the rotation as long as they still feel they’re viable contenders.

Red Sox Notes: Duran, Casas, Dobbins

By Steve Adams and Darragh McDonald | June 4, 2025 at 2:55pm CDT

The Padres’ reported interest in Jarren Duran has drawn plenty of attention, but Sean McAdam of MassLive.com downplays the potential fit between the two clubs. McAdam writes that he, too, has heard the Friars have checked in on Duran, but the Sox aren’t shopping the 2024 All-Star. With a crowded outfield mix and uber-prospect Roman Anthony seemingly ready for an MLB look, the Sox aren’t turning interested parties away when they inquire about Duran, but there’s an understandably high asking price.

With regard to the Padres specifically, McAdam touches on some of the difficulties regarding the fit that Darragh McDonald and I discussed on this week’s episode of the MLBTR Podcast. The Red Sox are likely to want immediate MLB help at either the infield corners or in the starting rotation, and San Diego is lacking in those areas. Their top two starters, Dylan Cease and Michael King, are free agents at season’s end. They don’t have any high-end, MLB-ready pitching prospects around which to build a deal, nor do they have the type of controllable corner infield help Boston would covet. The Padres’ infield is composed of expensive veterans, all of whom except Luis Arraez are on long-term deals; Arraez, a free agent at season’s end, isn’t going to get the ball rolling in talks when Duran is controlled through 2028.

The Padres do have two of MLB’s very best prospects in shortstop Leo De Vries and catcher Ethan Salas, but both are teenagers who are years from being ready for the majors. They’re also widely viewed as untouchable in trades, or close to it. As such, even if the Red Sox got to the point where they were serious about shopping Duran around, it seems likely that another outfield-needy team would be able to put together a more compelling package to sway the Sox.

Short-term help at the corner infield wouldn’t be a need at Fenway Park if the Sox had a healthy Triston Casas who was hitting as he did in 2023-24, when he batted a combined .256/.357/.480 (126 wRC+) with 37 homers in 745 plate appearances. Casas struggled for much of this season’s first three weeks, however, and suffered a season-ending knee injury when he’d begun to show signs of breaking out of that slump (.261/.414/.522 in eight games leading up to the injury).

Casas chatted with Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic about the injury, his timeline for a recovery and both the physical and mental difficulties of going through a rehab process that’ll span 10 or more months. An exact timeline hasn’t yet been established, but Casas said no doctors have told him to expect a yearlong absence to this point. He’s working toward a goal of being ready for next year’s spring training. For now, he’s still on crutches for at least two more weeks.

Casas calls the ruptured patellar tendon the biggest physical challenge he’s had to overcome in his career but noted that last year’s rib cage fractures may have been more mentally taxing. With that injury, he felt strong but had to simply wait to allow his ribs to heal before being cleared to swing at full strength, whereas he has more measured checkpoints and benchmarks in his rehab with the current injury. He added that former Red Sox right-hander Garrett Richards, who also suffered a ruptured patellar tendon late in his career, has reached out and been a valuable mentor as he navigates the early stages of his rehab. Sox fans, in particular, will want to check out McCaffrey’s piece for several thoughtful quotes from Casas about the injury, his rehab and his general outlook as he sets off on a long road to recovery.

Turning to the starting pitching group, the Sox optioned Richard Fitts earlier this week. Chris Cotillo of MassLive was among those to relay that Hunter Dobbins will draw into the rotation now. Various pitching injuries have thrust Dobbins to the majors this year and he has managed to perform decently in his first big league action. He has logged 44 1/3 innings this year over seven starts and two relief appearances, having allowed 4.06 earned runs per nine. His 19.6% strikeout rate is a bit low but he has only walked 5.6% of batters faced while getting grounders on 44.3% of balls in play.

Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler, Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito have the other four rotation spots for now. Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Patrick Sandoval and Chris Murphy are all on the injured list and could rejoin the rotation mix at some point. Sandoval, who had UCL surgery last year, tells Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe that he has thrown six bullpens but still isn’t close to facing live hitters. Crawford is on the IL due to knee discomfort but is now also dealing with wrist pain, per Christopher Smith of MassLive. Houck is on the shelf due to a flexor pronator strain and is still at the playing catch stage, per Smith. Murphy had Tommy John surgery in April of last year and his current status is unclear.

Red Sox Place Tanner Houck On Injured List With Flexor Pronator Strain

By Leo Morgenstern | May 14, 2025 at 4:38pm CDT

The Red Sox have placed right-handed starting pitcher Tanner Houck on the 15-day injured list with a flexor pronator strain in his pitching arm. In a corresponding move, the team recalled fellow right-hander Cooper Criswell from Triple-A.

Following a strong 2024 season, Houck has not pitched well in 2025. Through nine starts, he is 0-3 with an 8.04 ERA. He has struck out just 32 batters in 43 2/3 innings, while walking 17 and hitting five. On two separate occasions, including his most recent outing on Monday, he has given up 11 earned runs in a start and failed to escape the third inning. If those two games were scratched from the register, his ERA would drop to 3.92, and his strikeout and walk rates would look much closer to what they were last season. But of course, there’s no pretending those blow-ups didn’t happen. Now, at least, Houck and the Red Sox might have an explanation for his struggles.

After Monday’s game, Red Sox manager Alex Cora told Chris Cotillo of MassLive that he was still trying to figure out why Houck had been so ineffective. “I’ve got to take a look at the video and we’ve got to see what we’re gonna do,” he explained. “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.” At that point in time, the skipper didn’t suggest the problem could be injury-related. Indeed, Cotillo notes that as recently as this afternoon, Cora continued to insist that Houck would start again this weekend. Now, Houck will not be able to return for at least two weeks. It’s unclear how long he’ll be out.

The Red Sox have not confirmed whether Criswell will make a start in Houck’s place. Criswell was more than serviceable as a starter last season, pitching to a 3.49 ERA and 4.21 FIP in 18 starts. While he failed to earn a rotation spot out of spring training, he has started his last four games at Triple-A to great success. In 20 2/3 innings, he has a 1.74 ERA with 27 strikeouts. Still, it’s possible he was called up to be an extra arm out of the bullpen instead. The Red Sox might prefer to move Sean Newcomb back from the bullpen into the rotation. After all, Newcomb beat out Criswell for a rotation spot on the Opening Day roster. Newcomb was also the reliever who came out of the bullpen and gave the team 5 2/3 strong innings on Monday after Houck’s early exit. In other words, he’s stretched out enough to start, and he’s on schedule to seamlessly take over for Houck.

There is also a chance the Red Sox won’t need either of Criswell or Newcomb to step up. They could skip Houck’s turn in the rotation and give the ball to Brayan Bello on Sunday, a course of action made possible by an off day on Thursday. Then, Walker Buehler, who is expected to be activated from the IL early next week (per Cotillo), could potentially make the start on Monday, giving Boston a rotation of Bello, Buehler, Garrett Crochet, Lucas Giolito, and Hunter Dobbins. This is only an option, however, if Buehler is ready to go by Monday. While the Red Sox are planning for him to rejoin the team at some point during their series with the Mets, it’s not yet clear if Monday is a realistic date for his return.

Latest On Red Sox’ Rotation

By Darragh McDonald | May 13, 2025 at 2:22pm CDT

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

Red Sox Notes: Houck, Newcomb, Fulmer, Chapman

By Steve Adams | March 19, 2025 at 1:01pm CDT

The Red Sox haven’t approached right-hander Tanner Houck about a contract extension this spring, Houck himself tells Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. The 28-year-old adds that he’s open to such talks and would be happy to stay in Boston long-term — “I love it here” — but isn’t concerning himself with the lack of extension talks at present.

Houck reached arbitration for the first time this offseason and agreed on a $3.95MM salary to avoid a hearing. That contract came on the back of a breakout 2024 season wherein he pitched a career-high 178 2/3 innings with a 3.12 ERA, 20.7% strikeout rate, 6.5% walk rate, 55.9% grounder rate and 0.55 HR/9 over the life of 30 starts. After having floated between the bullpen in rotation in recent seasons, that career-best performance cemented Houck’s spot in Boston’s rotation.

Injuries to Kutter Crawford, Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito only further locked Houck into a prominent rotation role. He’ll likely take the ball in the Red Sox’ second game, behind Opening Day starter Garrett Crochet. The rest of the rotation looks a bit different than most would’ve expected heading into camp. Free-agent signee Walker Buehler is locked into a spot, but there’s been a competition for the final two outings that’s taken place as health troubles have arisen.

Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic wrote earlier in the week that right-hander Richard Fitts looked to have the fourth spot in the rotation locked up. The 25-year-old Fitts, acquired from the Yankees in the trade sending Alex Verdugo to the Bronx, has allowed only one run in 10 2/3 official spring innings. He’s punched out 13 of his 31 opponents (31.7%) against four walks (9.8%). Fitts posted a 4.17 ERA, 22.6% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate in 116 2/3 Triple-A innings last year and also made a brief MLB debut, pitching 20 2/3 frames with a 1.74 ERA (in spite of a paltry 10.6% strikeout rate in the majors).

More surprisingly, McCaffrey listed veteran Sean Newcomb as a strong candidate to earn the fifth spot. MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith suggests the same, writing that manager Alex Cora said the veteran lefty has “caught our eyes” with an impressive spring of his own. Newcomb, a Massachusetts native, has held opponents to one run on five hits and three walks with 10 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings. Unlike many veterans around the league on non-roster invitations, Newcomb does not have an opt-out in his contract before the end of camp, Smith notes, so the Sox don’t need to worry about losing him if they opt for someone already on the 40-man roster, such as righty Quinn Priester.

Similarly, veteran reliever Michael Fulmer tells WEEI’s Rob Bradford that his minor league deal with Boston does not have an opt-out opportunity. The former AL Rookie of the Year signed a two-year minor league deal with the Sox in the 2023-24 offseason as he rehabbed from a UCL revision performed in Oct. 2023.

Fulmer didn’t pitch last year while rehabbing that procedure, but the 32-year-old has been outstanding this spring. He’s tossed 9 1/3 innings and held opponents to one run on nine hits and three walks with nine strikeouts. The fact that he can’t opt out is a bit of a strike against his Opening Day chances, particularly if the Sox want to carry a long reliever to support their diminished rotation, but Fulmer has put himself in a nice position to either break camp with the team or get an early-season look.

At the other end of the bullpen, Boston’s ninth-inning picture has been a question for much of the spring. The hope was surely that Liam Hendriks would look closer to vintage form and claim that role as he enters the second season of a two-year contract, but it’s lefty Aroldis Chapman who’s emerged as the favorite for ninth-inning work, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com writes. Chapman has impressed the Sox with the quality of his raw stuff and has set down 10 of his 23 spring opponents on strikes. Hendriks has been tagged for six runs in five spring frames. Righty Justin Slaten also appears to be ahead of Hendriks on the closer depth chart — at least for the time being.

Certainly, that’s subject to change as the season wears on. Changes in the ninth inning are common, particularly when the frontrunner is a 37-year-old with persistent command issues and a recent injury history of note. Hendriks, Slaten or someone else entirely could wind up handling the bulk of the ninth-inning workload for skipper Alex Cora, but it sounds like Chapman will get first crack, thereby giving him a chance to become just the 14th pitcher in MLB history to tally 350 saves. He currently ranks 16th all-time, sitting just six saves behind Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers.

AL East Notes: Houck, Kahnle, Santander

By Mark Polishuk | May 19, 2024 at 4:28pm CDT

The Red Sox locked up Brayan Bello and Ceddanne Rafaela to contract extensions this past spring, but no deal developed between the team and Tanner Houck, even though the two sides had some negotiations. Houck confirmed to MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo that some “discussions” took place, “but we’re at where we are now. I put that behind me whenever we shook hands and said, ’Let’s go out and win as many games as we can.’ ” There’s nothing preventing Houck and the Sox from restarting talks, though it would seem that Houck (like most players) prefers to save contractual matters for the offseason to cut down on potential distractions.

The right-hander also doesn’t even reach arbitration eligibility until this coming winter, so since he is already under team control through 2027, Boston might not feel too much urgency to lock Houck up on an extension. Of course, given how Houck has pitched this season, the Sox might’ve missed their window for landing Houck at a relative bargain price. Houck has broken out with a 2.17 ERA over 58 innings and nine starts, and his secondary metrics are highlighted by impressive grounder (55.2%), walk (4.7%) and barrel (3.7%) rates. Even in a season marked by impressive pitching around baseball, Houck has stood out, as his 1.9 fWAR is behind only Tarik Skubal as the highest in the league.

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