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.
And that explains why he was having such horrible starts. Had to be an injury of some kind…
Acoss – They insisted just 2 days ago he is physically fine, so who knows … could be real, could be phantom injury. Grain of salt …
It was clearly an injury to his “pitch good” tendon.
I thought his velocity and such seemed fine. So injury is shocking, but kind of explains what’s happening.
Maybe he has been slightly injured and it is throwing off his mechanics.
@all, I think that is most likely. He was struggling to locate.
It’s called removing someone from the rotation/roster without the demeaning act of sending them to the minors.
Lower- i think you’re probably right on that one. If he was making $300mm they would’ve said, “oh boy Tanner, you really stink, how about you don’t pitch anymore” LOL
Well, I like Tanner, though I thought his future would have been better served a closer. That being said, I ha e to call BS on the injury. Tanner himself said he felt good physically, no issues right after the game!
He must have the same doctor as Yoshu. You know, the guy who is a DH until healthy, and then suddenly an outfielder who can’t throw 90 feet despite throwing 100 feet the day before?
Is Cora looking for another suspension for cheating?
DBH – I agree with every point!
I think the biggest risk of an IL investigation would be Cora announcing in ST “Hey everyone, Yoshida is now an outfielder” as an excuse to keep him off the active roster. It never made any sense that he would have taken playing time away from Duran, Abreu or Anthony.
I think at some point Yoshida will say activate me or trade me.
Houk was lit up by Le Tigres Monday, so I’m not surprised. Is he related to Ralph Houk?
I doubt it. Their names are spelled differently.
He’s just as likely to be related to Tanner Bibee.
Or Houck Hogan
say yer prayers, eat yer vitamins! thus spoke the Houckster, brother!
Houck-a-Berry Finn!
Thomar – Don’t forget Houck Tuah.
But it looks very much like Madison bumgarner and James garner were related.
I always wanted to try do a Rockford J-turn. That is always cool to see.
When all else fails, and you can’t get anyone out, say you’re hurt to save face, and go on the injured list.
Cora did Houck no favors by just sitting there as he got shellacked- letting him take more than his share for the team in Detroit. whether this injury is legit or not, hopefully Houck can come back with some confidence and be a contributor.
Could be something small too. When I was pitching, I broke a toe on my landing foot..which led to control issues that I tried everything to fix, and it ended up costing me my chance to play college ball. All it takes is one, small issue to get your mechanics out of whack.
Houck was only behind 3-0, and put 7 guys on base with 25 pitches. RPs don’t warm up that fast.
I think he’s been hurt since last year and has been pitching through it without complaining or using it as an excuse or crutch. If you’re not one of Cora’s favorites he doesn’t get in tune with you, just kept sending him out instead of investing time into him.
I think your thinking is ridiculous and thats a cheap shot at cora..if thats really the case they need to fire bailey as he works directly with the pitchers and based on your logic should also have known
Cora is terrible and should have been fired long ago. His do-nothing attitude towards Rafael Devers speaks volumes about his “ability”.
Agreed. Cora needs to go. He’s been absolutely awful in every facet of managing this year so far.
let – Red Sox Nation agrees.
You know what would be fantastic?
Cora gets called into John Henry’s office …..
“Hey Alex, even though we gave you that 3-year contract to be the manager we changed our mind and would like to have Jason take over. We want you to focus 100% on translating for players. Get rid of your manager desk and chair because you’ll never manage again, not even one game if we need a fill-in for Tek.”
Now wouldn’t THAT be poetic justice!!!
dajuba – It is indeed strange Houck kept pitching last year until he had to miss a start with a dead arm.
And we know Crawford led MLB in starts despite the knee injury.
So yes, Cora is absolutely selective when it comes to “protecting” players.
He’s the straw that stirs the drink, removing the straw stops the stirring and the drink can be enjoyed.
Houck probably had a sore forearm after the game (common), so they diagnosed it as a strain and put him on the IL to get his head straight. This will give him some time to reset, work things out in the bullpen and if need be, throw a couple of games down in AAA to rebuild his confidence.
Houck was completely lost after his last start. He had no explanation and sounded like someone who had no idea what to do. This time off will do wonders for him. Let’s just hope he can reset both physically and mentally and come back to his 2024 version of himself.
exactly right!
you are a saint, Dorothy Mantooth. a nice seafood dinner awaits!
Dotty – During today’s pregame Middlebrooks said the exact same thing, he didn’t even try to hide it or play along with the “injury” story.
I was surprised, that’s something I would expect out of Papelbon not Middlebrooks.
I hope he’s better than his last two major league call ups, though he is pitching very well in triple a and I hope it translates to the majors
Somehow the Dodgers are at fault for this. I’m sure of it.
Phantom injury to get his head on straight
Exactly his comments postgame tell the story someone injured doesnt lament about how hes never been so lost
I knew it was a pronator strain. Totally obvious.
Pretty sure the Tigers are stealing signs. The hits they were getting made no sense at all.
hayzee – They’ve got something now called “Pitchcom” that has made handsigns a thing of the past.
Hacking is child’s play. Even third world countries can do it.
hayzee – When you hear of this occurring or even of teams suspecting it’s occurring, please let me know.
Pitchcom uses an encryption protocol that changes after every pitch. In other words, it’s Cora-proof.
FPG, if Hogsbreath is sending the signals …
The meatballs made no sense at all
New crybaby rules, if the hits make no sense at all the runs don’t count. Manfred after pressure from obese Orange has ordered a restart, nil-nil top of 3rd
What sort of ramble is this? “Obese Orange”?
A mercy strain !
Ah, the “you suck right now” IL
What this team desperately needs is a big-time pitching coach to work with this staff… oh yeah, I forgot…
Mango – Yes Bailey is so great, that’s why the Giants let him leave for a lateral move which is basically unheard of.
But not to worry, Breslow the Genius has it all figured out ….. he discovered fastballs result in more hits than any other pitch type, so he decided the staff would drastically reduce throwing them.
Imagine that, over 150 years of baseball and nobody knew until Breslow.
All we heard was how this guy was some genius at getting pitchers to reach their full potential. Where’s all those people who kept repeating this garbage now?
Mango – I think they are in hiding with the “We should have kept Tyler O’Neill” people and the “Eovaldi is done” people ;O)
Fpg you being sarcastic about breslows intelligence makes you sound jealous..i think the problem people on this board have with you is not your baseball takes as many of them are very insightful ..however its your constant need to take cheap shots whenever you have the opportunity that likley annoys people ..just an observation and constructive criticism but tone down the cheap shots and people will stop rolling thier eyes every time you post..its so predictable
Pedro – Giants are 8th in ERA, Red Sox are 17th, so, I guess genius is never appreciated in its own time LOL
FPG – I think the league caught on to Bailey after the All Star Game. The staff’s ERA was up pretty much across the board.
More damning imo about Bailey and Breslow is the stagnation of Bello’s development. It never seems like they’re on the same page.
BTW, why would you have a staff wide philosophy anyway? They’re all different and have different strengths and weaknesses.
I know other teams do a similar thing, but, that doesn’t mean it’s right.
With their large Analytics staff the Red Sox can’t afford to pass up on any trend that may work, otherwise they’d be thought less of by the spreadsheet community
Sad – Yeah the Sox have been among the heaviest into analytics and what has it gotten them?
Their team-wide approach of swinging for the fences all the time has helped them lead MLB in batter strikeouts and they’ve lost many games because they don’t bunt or make the contact necessary to bring home RISP with less than 2 outs.
John Henry made his fortune using analytics, that’s why he’s so obsessed with it. He has yet to learn it can’t be applied as successfully or easily in baseball. What did it get the Athletics all these years?
Red Sox are a complete joke right now. And honestly, Houck is the least of the worries. We can’t close out any games or hit with RISP. Just like the last three years. Deja vu
Cora the Destroya
We can’t close out any games or hit with RISP.
=========================
We’re 14th out of 30 in RISP.
Check and see how much of that is when a game is on the line. Big difference between hitting with RISP in a blowout game and a close game. The more I watch, this offense is all or nothing but can’t come up at the big moments.
And I thought the bullpen would be a strength this year, but it’s far from it.
By the way, I’m not trying to be a downer but I’ve been rooting for them for three years now and they’re just bad. I feel more like a realist.
Joe – i think that’s the point. Who wants their team to be statistically 14th? Or under.500? Shouldn’t we want to be better?
As of today Fangraphs has the Sox chance of making the playoffs at 36%, well i guess that’s kinda middle of the pack so we should be ok with that.
Red Sux are always a complete joke
Ok – I’m guessing you weren’t even born the last time the Yankees won a championship.
The bottom line here is that they really can’t count on him being a front of the rotation starter moving forward. They need somebody to pair with Crochet. Since the ownership isn’t willing to spend the required money in free agency to get a guy like Fried then they have to find a way to deal from the surplus in position players.
Fried was signed by a joke franchise that spends billions of dollars to win every 25 years. Elon will chainsaw them and Fried will be looking for a job. Maybe a three year contract with opt outs.
rmull – Between Bello, Gio, Dobbs and Fitts one of them should step up.
I know I sound overly optimistic, I guess I’m just counting on the law of averages. LOL
Tar and feathered in Beantown must be a tory. Up the rebels!
Not sure I buy into this hurt theory after a good start. But he needs to go figure it out, and this team seems like it’s full of under achieving this year, Story, Duran, Wong, and on and on are starting to show signs of a bad year. We moved Devers to improve team D and that has just blown up in our faces. Way too many errors and it’s happening about every night!
The Red Sox should trade for Kody Clemens.