Tanner Houck Reveals Past Contract ‘Conversations’ With Red Sox

Tanner Houck shared that the Boston Red Sox entertained a contract extension with the right-hander ahead of the 2022 season’s end.

The 26-year-old had an overall unstable third big league campaign in Boston. Houck made 32 appearances on the mound with four of them being starts, and like many other Red Sox arms last season, he struggled to stay healthy. In early August, Houck suffered lower-back inflammation and was initially placed on the 15-day injured list. That snowballed into season-ending surgery, which he’ll look to bounce back from in 2023.

But despite Houck falling victim to Boston’s injury bug, it didn’t discourage the organization from discussing a possible long-term deal.

“Conversations, but nothing came of it,” Houck said Wednesday at spring training, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive. “We’re pretty happy with where we’re at right now. There’s no rush into anything.”

Houck added: “If you’re willing to bet on yourself and believe that you can sign a bigger contract, then take that shot, in my opinion, if you’re a betting man. If you’re not and you like security, it’s perfectly fine.”

A contract extension, of course, didn’t come to fruition. But this hasn’t fazed Houck. With Opening Day on March 30 against the Baltimore Orioles soon approaching, Houck has already expressed where he prefers to assist the Red Sox on the mound in 2023. Since debuting with the Red Sox in 2020, Houck has made 20 starts in 53 career appearances with a 3.02 ERA in 146 career innings pitched.

But for now, Houck intends to only worry about what he can control moving forward.

“I want to focus on what I’ve got to do,” Houck said. “I’ve got to focus on the field, and everything else on the business side will take care of itself if you worry about what you have to do in between the lines. You get paid for that. You don’t get paid for being a social media influencer or whatever. You get paid to get outs or hit home runs.”