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Tanner Houck

Red Sox Notes: Deadline, Houck

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At 40-40, the Red Sox sit 13 games behind the division-leading Rays but are a more manageable three and a half games back in the American League Wild Card chase. A month of strong play or a month of poor play would drastically alter the team’s postseason hopes, and chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom tells Alex Speier of the Boston Globe that the team’s play over the next several weeks will determine the front office’s approach to the Aug. 1 trade deadline.

“If we’re able to play well, and that should make us more aggressive,” said Bloom. “…That frankly dictates how you go into the deadline and what you’re looking to accomplish.”

The Red Sox, like many teams in today’s MLB, walked the line between traditional “buyer” and “seller” at the 2022 trade deadline. Veterans Jake Diekman and Christian Vazquez were traded away, but Boston also acquired a big league catcher (Reese McGuire) in that Diekman swap and swung separate trades to acquire veterans Tommy Pham and Eric Hosmer. The Sox wound up hanging onto veterans Rich Hill, Michael Wacha, J.D. Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi and Xander Bogaerts despite all five being on the cusp of free agency. (Boston ended up narrowly exceeding the luxury-tax line, thus reducing their draft compensation for Eovaldi and Bogaerts, who rejected qualifying offers.)

Bloom’s wait-and-see approach is one being employed by many teams right now. The Red Sox are one of six American League teams within six games of a playoff spot. Over in the National League, there are another four non-playoff teams that are currently fewer than six games back from positioning themselves for a spot. Understandably, those clubs aren’t yet giving up hope on their season. Some may become sellers closer to the deadline, while others will surely play their way into clear-cut buyer status. Broadly speaking, given the parity throughout the league and the increased frequency with which teams are willing to cash in Major League assets who have dwindling club control, many clubs will take that same hybrid buy/sell approach that the 2022 Red Sox took at last year’s deadline. Boston itself could certainly do so again.

As is the case with many baseball operations leaders, Bloom spoke in generalities and didn’t detail what his club might seek on the market should they end up looking to add pieces. Rotation help is an obvious need in Boston, however, evidenced both by a 4.89 ERA from their starters (26th in MLB) and by the trio of starters on the injured list at present. Chris Sale, Corey Kluber and Tanner Houck are all on the shelf, leaving the Sox with a rotation of James Paxton, Brayan Bello, Garrett Whitlock and Kutter Crawford at the moment. That group has performed well of late, it should be noted, with Paxton in particular thriving now that he’s finally healthy. However, the depth beyond the current staff is thin, at best, and there are both health (Paxton) and workload (Whitlock) concerns among the bunch.

A timeline for Houck, who recently underwent surgery after being struck in the face by a comeback line drive, hasn’t been fully clear since he incurred that frightening injury. Sean McAdam of MassLive.com now reports that Houck is unlikely to return before August. The right-hander hasn’t thrown in two weeks and will still need additional time to recover from a procedure that inserted a small plate into his cheekbone. It’ll be a long enough layoff that Houck will need to build arm strength back up and go out on a minor league rehab assignment.

Houck, 26, has had an up-and-down season while seeking to establish himself as a long-term option in the Boston rotation. At the time of his injury, he was sitting on a 5.05 ERA through 67 2/3 innings, although his strikeout rate, walk rate, ground-ball rate and average on balls in play were all right in line with his 2022 levels, when he posted a tidy 3.15 ERA in a similar sample of 60 innings. Houck has seen more than twice as many of the fly-balls he’s allowed leave the yard this season, which is the primary culprit for the ERA spike. He’ll apparently have to wait at least five weeks before he’s able to return to the mound and correct that ugly trend.

Tanner Houck To Undergo Surgery To Address Facial Fracture

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Red Sox starter Tanner Houck will undergo surgery that inserts a plate in his face next week, manager Alex Cora told the Boston beat (via Ian Browne of MLB.com). The right-hander was diagnosed with a fracture after being struck in the face by a comebacker during his start against the Yankees last Friday.

While the surgery seems like an ominous development, Cora called it “the best news we could get” (link via Alex Speier of the Boston Globe). Boston has declined to provide a timetable for Houck’s return, though Speier writes the team is confident he will pitch again this season. They placed Houck on the 15-day injured list over the weekend.

Before last week’s scary incident, the right-hander had gotten mixed results in 13 outings. He owns a middling 5.05 ERA over 67 2/3 innings. Houck’s underlying marks were better than the run prevention figure. His 22.5% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk percentage are around average for a starting pitcher, while his 49.7% grounder rate is quite strong.

As has been the case throughout his career, platoon splits tell a significant story. Left-handed batters have teed off for eight home runs with a .262/.312/.500 showing in 145 trips to the plate. Houck has absolutely dominated righty opponents, holding them to a .224/.300/.272 line with just one homer over 140 plate appearances.

The Sox have stayed committed to using Houck in the rotation after shuttling him between the starting staff and the bullpen in prior seasons. He and Garrett Whitlock both made the move to full-time starting this year, eventually bumping Corey Kluber and Nick Pivetta to relief in the process. James Paxton and Brayan Bello have secured rotation spots, while Kutter Crawford was moved to the starting staff when Chris Sale landed on the injured list a few weeks ago. Boston has yet to announce who’ll take Houck’s scheduled start against the Twins on Thursday afternoon.

Tanner Houck Suffers Facial Fracture

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TODAY: The Red Sox officially placed Houck on the 15-day injured list today, and called up right-hander Kaleb Ort.

JUNE 17: Red Sox starter Tanner Houck exited last night’s game against the Yankees in the fifth inning following a frightening incident that saw the right-hander struck in the face by a line drive off the bat of Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka. After walking off the field on his own power, Houck was checked out and received stitches at a local hospital last night. More information on Houck’s situation was revealed this evening, as the club announced on Twitter that the young right-hander had suffered a facial fracture and was currently resting at home, with follow-up appointments scheduled for next week that would determine a treatment plan and next steps for the pitcher.

While the news that Houck is safely home and avoided more catastrophic injury is certainly heartening, the news is nonetheless a major blow for both Houck and Boston. Just weeks shy of his 27th birthday, Houck was getting his first extended look as a member of the club’s starting rotation this season, and had performed solidly despite his 5.05 ERA in 13 starts leaving something to be desired. Much of Houck’s struggles in the run prevention department have been thanks to an unusually low strand rate of just 64.5%, as indicated by his stronger expected stats: in 2023, Houck sports a 3.86 xERA, a 4.22 FIP, and a 3.78 xFIP, all strong numbers bolstered by solid strikeout and walk rates of 22.5% and 8.1%, respectively.

Now, of course, Houck figures to head to the injured list in the coming days as he recovers from yesterday’s injury. That leaves the Red Sox in a bit of a bind regarding their rotation with Chris Sale also on the injured list while both Corey Kluber and Nick Pivetta have been recently demoted to the bullpen. Pivetta has taken well to his new role, with a 2.70 ERA across 13 1/3 innings in nine relief appearances. Both he and right-hander Josh Winckowski could be considered too vital to the club’s bullpen as things stand to step into the rotation, though Kluber’s 6.75 ERA in 52 innings between the rotation and bullpen are hardly an enticing option either.

The club has Bryan Mata, Chris Murphy, and Brandon Walter all starting at the Triple-A level while already on the 40-man roster, though each comes with checkered marks at the level. That being said, Murphy did pitch 3 1/3 scoreless relief innings for Boston earlier in an appearance earlier this season, leaving him as perhaps the most likely option of the trio should the club look to dip into the minor leagues to cover Houck’s next start, which had been scheduled for Wednesday in Minnesota.

Red Sox Move Corey Kluber To Bullpen

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The Red Sox are moving struggling veteran Corey Kluber from the starting rotation to the bullpen, manager Alex Cora told hosts Andy Gresh and Christian Fauria in a radio appearance on WEEI this afternoon (Twitter link). They’ll move back to a five-man rotation consisting of Chris Sale, James Paxton, Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck and Brayan Bello for the time being.

Kluber hasn’t made an appearance out of the bullpen since 2013. The 37-year-old signed a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $10MM this offseason, with the hope that he’d provide some stable innings to a group that was teeming with injury risk (Sale, Paxton) and young starters who’ll be on innings limits due to lighter workloads in 2022 (Whitlock, Houck). Things haven’t played out that way at all, however.

Through his first nine starts with Boston, Kluber has been tattooed for a 6.26 ERA. His 88.6 mph average fastball is the lowest of his career, and he’s also sporting career-worst marks in strikeout rate (17.7%), walk rate (9.4%) and HR/9 (2.38). He has just one quality start on the year and has only twice recorded an out in the sixth inning. On average, Kluber’s starts have lasted 4 2/3 frames.

Kluber becomes the second member of the Opening Day rotation to slide into a relief role. The performances from Houck and Bello have also displaced Nick Pivetta, who has started more Red Sox games than any pitcher dating back to 2021 and led the team in innings pitched last season.

Houck, 26, has had some rough starts, though the resulting 4.99 ERA is still superior to what Kluber has managed so far. Houck’s most recent outing — six innings, one run, three hits, two walks, eight punchouts — in particular seemed to cement the decision to move Kluber to a relief role. Overall, while Houck’s ERA is only south of 5.00 by the literal narrowest of margins, he’s shown roughly league-average strikeout and walk rates with a strong 51.8% ground-ball rate and a quality 0.92 HR/9 mark. Houck has struggled with men on base, leading to a well below average 61.8% strand rate, but there are plenty of positives in his overall performance.

Bello, 24, has made seven starts and logged a 4.08 ERA through 35 1/3 frames. He’s been slightly better than average in terms of strikeout and walk rate (23.6% and 7.6%, respectively), and his massive 59% ground-ball rate is among the league’s best. Bello has run into problems with the long ball, serving up homers at nearly double the rate of Houck (1.78 HR/9). He’s managed to strand a whopping 81% of his opponents, which will be tough to maintain, but if he can scale back the frequency of his home runs, the strikeout/walk/ground-ball trifecta should allow him to continue finding success.

It should of course be noted that the move to the bullpen for Kluber isn’t necessarily permanent — nor is Pivetta’s shift to a similar role. Both Sale and especially Paxton remain injury risks, and the Sox likely still want to keep an eye on the innings totals of Whitlock (82 1/3 innings in 2022) and Houck (60 innings). As such, it’s quite likely that there will be additional opportunities in the rotation as the season wears on, though whether it’s Pivetta, Kluber, someone from the farm system or an external addition who’s making those appearances will be dependent on how Kluber and Pivetta perform in relief and whether they remain stretched out in multi-inning roles.

Red Sox Notes: Kluber, Bleier, Infield

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Boston’s offseason signing of veteran right-hander Corey Kluber hasn’t gone nearly as well as hoped, evidenced by the 37-year-old’s 6.26 ERA through seven trips to the hill thus far. The two-time AL Cy Young winner’s 17.7% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate are both career-worsts, as is his 88.6 mph average fastball. Kluber is in the 21st percentile of MLB pitchers or lower in terms of strikeout rate, opponents’ average exit velocity and opponents’ hard-hit rate. His lone quality start of the season came on April 25 in Baltimore.

The Red Sox have stuck with the right-hander through his struggles, and manager Alex Cora indicated over the weekend that Kluber will make his next scheduled start on the road against the D-backs, writes Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. That’ll mean the Red Sox will continue with a six-man rotation of Chris Sale, James Paxton, Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, a returning Garrett Whitlock — he’s expected to be activated from the injured list for Saturday’s start — and Kluber. However, Cora declined to commit to the permanence of that arrangement (or lack thereof). Asked if that group would continue to start for the foreseeable future, Cora replied: “For the foreseeable week, let’s put it that way.”

Whether the Sox would pull the plug on Kluber’s tenure entirely or look to move him to the bullpen, as they did with Nick Pivetta, is likely still being determined by the team’s front office. Certainly, the hope would be for Kluber to right the ship and begin to make good on the $10MM contract he signed over the winter, but there’s been little in the way of positives to foster optimism.

Boston’s bullpen, in general, has been solid this season, ranking 13th in the Majors with a 3.84 ERA. However, some cracks have begun to form over the past couple weeks. Closer Kenley Jansen has begun to struggle with his command and had a recent pair of blow-ups, while righty John Schreiber hit the injured list with a lat strain last week.

Last night, the Sox further announced that lefty Richard Bleier is headed to the injured list with shoulder inflammation. After a pair of tough outings early in the year, he’d been pitching well for about a month, working to a 2.77 ERA over a span of 13 innings from April 15 to May 15. However, Bleier was rocked for five runs (three earned) on six hits in 2 2/3 innings over his past two appearances before landing on the injured list.

The Sox didn’t provide a timetable for Bleier’s potential return. He’ll be replaced by fellow lefty Brennan Bernardino for the time being. The 31-year-old southpaw, claimed off waivers from Seattle earlier in the season, has a solid 3.65 ERA in 12 1/3 frames with the Sox since they picked him up, with a hearty 55% grounder rate and 5.6% walk rate helping to offset a tepid 18.5% strikeout rate.

Though Bleier will be out for at least two weeks, the Red Sox could soon be getting healthier in the infield. Christopher Smith of MassLive.com tweets that Yu Chang is slated to head out on a rehab assignment tomorrow, and Christian Arroyo could do the same as soon as Friday. Chang has been out for nearly a month since suffering a hamate fracture, while Arroyo’s been sidelined since early May due to a hamstring strain.

That pair’s impending return will push the Red Sox into some roster decisions, as both have been outperformed by current second baseman Enmanuel Valdez, who’s batting .270/.324/.476 with three homers and three steals in 68 plate appearances. Valdez has minor league options remaining, however, while both Chang and Arroyo are out of options. Boston has also gotten solid work in an even smaller sample from utilityman Pablo Reyes, whom they acquired from the A’s in exchange for cash 11 days ago. In 28 plate appearances, Reyes is batting .296/.321/.407 (8-for-27, three doubles, one walk, four strikeouts). Like Chang and Arroyo, he’s out of minor league options.

AL Notes: Whitlock, Red Sox, McCullers, Naylor, Donaldson

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Garrett Whitlock threw 79 pitches in a Triple-A rehab start today, and Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters (including The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey) that Whitlock will be activated from the 15-day IL in time to start Saturday’s game against the Diamondbacks.  Whitlock’s return won’t push anyone out of the rotation for now, as Cora said that Boston will use six starters over their six games this week, sandwiched around Thursday’s off-day.  The team will re-assess the pitching situation after this full turn through a six-man rotation, Cora said, taking advantage of another off-day on May 29 to reset the staff as necessary.

Between injuries and inconsistency, Boston has had one of the weaker rotations in baseball, though Chris Sale, James Paxton, and Brayan Bello have all been sharp lately.  Cora has said in the past that the Sox plan to keep Whitlock as a starter, leaving Tanner Houck and Corey Kluber as the potential odd men out if the club does adopt a traditional five-man pitching staff.  Houck’s secondary numbers are at least better than his 5.48 ERA would indicate, but it has been a rough season all-around for Kluber, whose ERA has ballooned to 6.26 over 41 2/3 innings after he was hit hard in tonight’s start against the Padres.  Kluber signed a one-year (plus a 2024 club option) contract worth a guaranteed $10MM in the offseason, but that deal is already looking like a misfire given the veteran’s struggles.

More from the American League…

  • The Astros believe Lance McCullers Jr. can return “probably somewhere closer to the All-Star break, or after,” GM Dana Brown said in a radio interview on SportsTalk 790 AM (hat tip to MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart).  There’s still some fluidity “depending on whether we can get him built up to start,” Brown noted.  While not the clearest of timelines, it does represent some kind of target for McCullers, who hasn’t pitched this season after suffering a forearm strain early in Spring Training.  Jose Urquidy is also tentatively expected to return from the injured list around the All-Star break, which could give the Astros a badly needed one-two boost to their depleted rotation.
  • The Guardians called up Bo Naylor as the 27th man for their double-header with the Mets today, with Naylor going hitless in two plate appearances in the first game.  This was Naylor’s first call-up of the 2023 season, after the catching prospect made his MLB debut with five games in 2022.  Despite some mediocre numbers at throwing out baserunners at Triple-A this season, Naylor told Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and other reporters that “I feel I’m progressing well.  I had a lot of work at [Triple-A] Columbus on some transfer stuff.  It continues to progress every day.  As of late it’s shown pretty well.”  It remains to be seen when Naylor might get a longer look at the big league level, yet given how badly Cleveland’s offense has struggled, an argument can definitely be made that Naylor is already the best catching option in the organization.  Naylor is hitting .257/.391/.507 over 184 PA at Triple-A, while the Guards’ catching quartet of Mike Zunino, Cam Gallagher, Meibrys Viloria, and David Fry are all badly struggling at the plate.
  • Now that the Yankees have designated Aaron Hicks for assignment, speculation has begun that Josh Donaldson could potentially join Hicks on the waiver wire when Donaldson is activated from the 10-day IL.  The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner looks at some of the reasons why it may be time for the Yankees to part ways with the former AL MVP, most simply the fact that DJ LeMahieu looks like a more productive third base option than Donaldson right now, and LeMahieu won’t have a regular place to play once Donaldson and Giancarlo Stanton are healthy.  Even though the Yankees would have to eat the roughly $23.16MM in remaining salary owed to Donaldson, Kirschner writes that “for a team that makes as much money as the Yankees, it’s a rather minuscule amount that will make the roster fit more seamlessly if they decide it’s time to cut him loose.”

Latest On The Red Sox Rotation

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Rotation plans for the Red Sox in the near term have come into focus recently, as manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MassLive’s Chris Cotillo) that right-hander Tanner Houck is likely to start the club’s game against the Orioles on Wednesday, though that could change if he’s needed out of the bullpen before then.

This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as reports ahead of the activation of righty Brayan Bello from the 15-day IL last week indicated that the club could go with a six-man rotation at least through the off-day on this coming Thursday before transitioning to a five-man rotation that would likely leave Houck as the odd man out. Still, Cotillo goes on to note that the club does have other options: righty Nick Pivetta could be moved to the bullpen instead, or Bello, who was shelled for five runs in 2 2/3 innings of work in his first start coming off the IL, could be demoted to Triple-A.

Of the six members of the Red Sox rotation, Houck has actually been the best starter this season in terms of performance. In 21 innings of work, Houck has posted a solid 4.29 ERA, 11% better than league average by measure of ERA+, and a nearly matching 4.26 FIP. His strikeout (25.5%) and walk (9.3%) rates are largely in line with his career norms, as is his BABIP (.283). The most significant change from previous seasons for Houck in the early going this year is his groundball rate. Houck entered the season with a career groundball rate of 49.3%, but in his four starts this season, that figure has jumped all the way up to 58.9%, good for sixth in the majors among players with at least 20 IP.

While Houck’s start this season is encouraging, Cotillo notes that his success in a multi-inning relief role last year, when he posted a 2.70 ERA in 43 1/3 innings out of the bullpen, makes him a natural choice for the move. Meanwhile, Smith notes that Pivetta has resisted suggestions he could be ticketed for the bullpen after some early season struggles. Pivetta has yet to finish the sixth inning this season in a start and has posted a 4.58 ERA over 19 2/3 innings this season in spite of a deflated .275 BABIP that helps to explain his more worrisome 5.19 FIP.

Even in the event that Houck is ultimately sent to the bullpen, Boston brass will have to make another tough decision when lefty James Paxton returns from the IL, which he could do fairly soon. Paxton, Cotillo notes, has never appeared out of the bullpen in his career and struggled badly out of the bullpen in a rehab stint this season, allowing seven runs in less than an inning of work. With Paxton an unlikely bullpen candidate, the Red Sox are likely to once again be left to decide between a six-man rotation and bumping either Pivetta or Bello from the group when the veteran lefty is ready to be activated.

East Notes: Fried, Bello, Red Sox, Donaldson, Bader, Garcia

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Left-hander Max Fried is slated to make his return to the mound on Monday, when the Braves open up a three-game series against the Padres.  Atlanta manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including David O’Brien of The Athletic) that Fried will be activated from the 15-day injured list prior to the game.  Fried will end up missing only 16 days due to a strained left hamstring, as he went to the IL on April 4 but with a backdated placement of April 1, so ensure a quicker return as long as the hamstring issue turned out to be pretty minimal.

With Fried and Kyle Wright now healthy, Atlanta’s rotation is more or less back in its expected form, with Fried, Wright, Spencer Strider, and Charlie Morton comprising the top four, and Bryce Elder pitching well in a bid to cement his spot.  The Braves had planned to use Jared Shuster or Dylan Dodd as the fifth starter heading into the season, but while the two rookies have struggled against MLB hitters, while Elder has an impressive 1.53 ERA over three starts and 17 2/3 innings.

More from both the NL and AL East divisions…

  • Brayan Bello is also expected to be activated from the 15-day IL on Monday, as the Red Sox righty will make his season debut in a start against the Angels.  Bello dealt with some forearm tightness early in Spring Training, which delayed his ramp-up enough that a short IL stint was necessary to open the season.  With Bello expected to be a regular starter, the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier suggested that the Sox might utilize a six-man rotation until their next off-day on April 27, in order to give a bit more rest to a pitching staff that hasn’t many good results early in the season.  Tanner Houck might ultimately be the odd man out of the rotation, and while Houck told Speier that he would prefer to stay as a starter, “I don’t have much say over it.  We’ll have conversations, but I can only go out there and compete and put my best foot forward and continue to fight for the spot.”
  • The Yankees are likely to activate Josh Donaldson from the 10-day IL on Wednesday, manager Aaron Boone told ESPN’s Marly Rivera and other reporters.  Donaldson will play in a minor league rehab game on Tuesday and then take the field against the Angels on Wednesday.  A right hamstring strain sent Donaldson (retroactively) to the injured list on April 6, and his return will provide some relief to a lineup that is missing Giancarlo Stanton and Harrison Bader.  In Bader’s case, he has been working out and taking part in baseball activities at Yankee Stadium, and Boone indicated that a minor league rehab assignment might begin this week as Bader makes his way back from a left oblique strain.
  • X-rays were negative on Avisail Garcia’s right wrist after the Marlins outfielder was hit while swinging at a pitch in today’s game.  Jesus Sanchez had to replace Garcia to finish the rest of the plate appearance, but Garcia looks to have avoided serious injury, even if the Marlins might hold him out a day or two to monitor the wrist.  After a rough first season in Miami, Garcia’s struggles have continued in 2023, as he has hit only .162/.225/.270 over his first 41 plate appearances.

Latest On The Red Sox’ Rotation

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The Red Sox’ rotation will likely be down several starters to begin the season, as MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo writes that each of Garrett Whitlock, Brayan Bello and James Paxton are expected to begin the season on the injured list. Paxton had already been trending in this direction, but Whitlock and Bello now join him in missing at least the beginning of the 2023 season. Cotillo notes that Whitlock, who got a late start while recovering from hip surgery is expected to be ready sometime in mid-April. Bello, who battled forearm tightness early in camp, should follow shortly thereafter. Paxton isn’t expected to return until May at the earliest.

The Red Sox announced this week that offseason signee Corey Kluber would get the nod on Opening Day. Left-hander Chris Sale, eyeing for a rebound campaign after a dreadful run of injuries in recent seasons, is slated to start the second game of the season. Righties Nick Pivetta, Tanner Houck and likely Kutter Crawford should round out the quintet to begin the year.

With Whitlock and Bello both expected to return by the end of the season’s first month, though, the rotation will likely be reconfigured early in the regular season. Crawford, who struggled to a 5.47 ERA in 77 2/3 frames last season, figures to be the odd man out once either Whitlock or Bello is able to reclaim a  spot in the starting staff. In that case, Crawford would figure to serve as optionable rotation depth alongside Josh Winckowski.

Assuming everyone remains healthy by the time both Whitlock and Bello are ready to return, the Sox will be faced with a decision between Houck and Pivetta for the final rotation spot. Pivetta made a league-leading 33 starts last season and paced the team with 179 2/3 innings pitched. That impressive volume came with mediocre results, however, as the right-hander posted a slightly below-average 4.56 ERA during the 2022 campaign.

Houck, meanwhile, has been a successful pitcher both as a starter (3.22 ERA in 92 1/3 innings) and a reliever (2.68 ERA in 53 2/3 innings) to this point in his career. The former first-rounder has long been seen as a potential rotation piece at Fenway, but the Red Sox were noncommittal early in the offseason when asked about his role. Houck also had back surgery late last season and ended the year on the injured list after making 28 of his 32 appearances as a reliever. It’s easy to see why the Sox would be intrigued by the idea of Houck upping his workload this year and even getting some more run in the starting staff, but he’s coming off a 60-inning season that ended in back surgery; a jump to a full starter’s workload would be something of a surprise.

Of course, this needn’t be a strict either-or proposition. Situations like this tend to work themselves out, often as injuries pop up elsewhere on a pitching staff. Getting Houck some early rotation work and perhaps moving him to a multi-inning relief/sixth starter role once everyone is healthy would be a good means of managing his workload as he ramps up from last year’s 60 innings.

Even if the plan is to ride Houck as a starter as long as possible, that doesn’t mean Pivetta will be decidedly forced out of the rotation. Given that each of Sale, Whitlock, Bello, Houck, Kluber and especially Paxton have some notable injuries within the past few seasons, it’s likely the Sox will need to shuffle through quite a few starters. All six of their top options figure to spend ample time in the rotation this summer, and they’ll also have depth options like Crawford, Winckowski, Brandon Walter, Chris Murphy and Bryan Mata as candidates for rotation work down in the minors.

Red Sox, Tanner Houck Discussed Extension Last Year

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At some point last year, the Red Sox and right-hander Tanner Houck had some talks about an extension, though it doesn’t seem much progress was made. “Conversations, but nothing came of it,” Houck told Chris Cotillo of MassLive. “We’re pretty happy with where we’re at right now. There’s no reason to rush into anything.”

Houck, 27 in June, has pitched in the past three major league seasons, oscillating between the rotation and the bullpen but generally getting good results either way. Overall, he’s tossed 146 innings with a 3.02 ERA, striking out 27.6% of batters faced, walking 8.7% of them and getting grounders at a 49.3% clip. Getting into the splits, he has a 3.22 ERA as a starter and 2.68 as a reliever. He’s actually racked up more strikeouts out of the rotation, a 28.5% rate compared to a 25.9% rate out of the bullpen. But his .300 BABIP as a starter is a bit above his .274 mark as a reliever, and his 70.5% strand rate out of the rotation is a few ticks below his 77.3% mark from the ’pen.

In addition to that strong body of work, Houck also comes with the pedigree of being a first round pick, selected 24th overall in 2017. He is currently between one and two years of MLB service time, meaning he’s still shy of qualifying for arbitration and isn’t slated for free agency until after the 2027 season, when he’ll be 31. There would be some risk in committing significant dollars to Houck since he fought lingering back issues last year and ultimately required surgery, but all pitchers generally have some injury flags on their profiles and there’s usually a point at which clubs are willing to take the risk.

It’s unknown exactly what kind of contract structures were floated, but the talks didn’t advance enough for the Sox to put forth a formal offer. “We never really even got that far,” Houck said. “(It was) a conversation. We talked here and there.”

It’s possible that the Red Sox were looking at Houck the same way they viewed Garrett Whitlock. A Rule 5 pick of the Yankees, Whitlock made his MLB debut in 2021 with 73 1/3 innings out of the Boston bullpen with a 1.96 ERA. Going into 2022, there was some consideration of returning Whitlock to the rotation since he had spent much of his minor league time there. In April of last year, before the campaign really got going, the two sides agreed on an $18.75MM extension that covered his remaining years of control, while also potentially giving the Sox control over two free agent years via club options. If Whitlock eventually emerges as a viable rotation candidate, that will turn into a bargain for the club, given the salaries typically earned by free agent starters. But it was also understandable why Whitlock would want to lock in that guaranteed money, since he was a relative late bloomer, just about to turn 26 at that time.

Houck is in a relatively similar position, showing plenty of potential but still not fully established and with huge paydays still a few years away. It doesn’t seem as though the ship has sailed on an extension, with Houck expressing openness. “If the opportunity on both sides is right, I’d be willing to, but both sides have to feel comfortable with an agreement,” he said. “I think it really depends on the individual person,” he elaborated. “If you’re willing to bet on yourself and believe that you can sign that bigger contract, then take the shot, in my opinion, if you’re a betting man. If you’re not and you like the security, it’s perfectly fine. There’s nothing wrong with it either way, but as an individual, I think you have to be okay with it.”

For 2023, Houck seems to have a blocked path to the rotation for now, though there will be many variables. Chris Sale and James Paxton could be at the front of the rotation, though neither has pitched much in the past three years due to injury. Corey Kluber is coming off a healthy season with the Rays but had three injury-marred years prior to that. Nick Pivetta has been the most reliable of the bunch though his status is now a little murky as he’s dropping out of the World Baseball Classic, per Cotillo, as he recently had COVID for a third time and isn’t recovering as hoped. Then there’s Whitlock and his nine career starts and younger guys like Brayan Bello and Brandon Walter.

The club has said they plan to stretch Houck out this spring but perhaps move him into bullpen role if he doesn’t have a spot in the rotation by Opening Day. Given all the uncertainty in the rotation, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see him get pencilled in as the starter at some point this year. “It’s not my decision. I’d love to start; that’s what I’ve done my whole career,” Houck recently told Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. “But I’ve got to help the team win in whatever way possible.”

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