All expectations are Red Sox right-hander Tanner Houck is going to greatly complement Boston’s pitching staff during the 2023 campaign. It’s just a matter of whether Houck will lend his talent to the starting rotation or the bullpen.
The 26-year-old is taking the correct team-first approach in Fort Meyers, Fla., with the Red Sox in the midst of spring training. But Houck nevertheless has a preference.
“It’s not my decision. I’d love to start; that’s what I’ve done my whole career,” Houck told reporters, per The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham. “But I’ve got to help the team win in whatever way possible.”
Houck, who shared that he enters the season with a “chip on his shoulder,” has shown the ability to help in multiple facets. He’s compiled a 3.02 ERA in 20 career starts but also finished 14 games with eight saves for the Red Sox in 2022, doing so with a 3.15 ERA. He has the potential of a high-end starter as well as a dominant man in the later innings.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora expressed how the priority for Houck is making sure the team gets the most out of him, regardless of what role he serves.
“As many innings as possible and we have to find that out,” Cora told reporters, per Abraham. “If he is in the bullpen, he’ll go multiple innings. We’ll see what we want, but we have to maximize him.”
Houck was shut down late last season with the Red Sox in fourth place in the American League East. He had surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital to address a disc injury in his back, which he said has been bugging him for years.
“I feel really good,” Houck said. “A lot of the (medical) stuff that I had last year is cleared up now.”
Now it’ll be up to Cora and company to clear up where Houck fits best for the Red Sox staff.
