It’s easy, at this point in the MLB season, to play a whole bunch of hypothetical games. What if the Red Sox had done more at the trade deadline? What if they had not lost Triston Casas for the season at first base? What if they had not traded Quinn Priester (10-2, with a 3.27 ERA) in Milwaukee back in April?
For the Red Sox, the easiest of the hypotheticals is one that is not very far-fetched: What if Tanner Houck, who was an All-Star last year and looking ahead to potentially being the No. 2 starter this year, had not been injured, and had given Boston even a decent season?
Alas, Houck was off from the get-go this season, 0-3 with an 8.04 ERA in nine games, before he went on the disabled list in May. And since then, his rehab has only gone backwards, as a the dreaded right flexor pronator strain got worse after he made a handful of rehab starts, and has left him now in need of Tommy John surgery, which will take place in the coming days.
Tanner Houck Speaks on Injury
Houck finally addressed the situation on Sunday as the Red Sox finished off their sweep of the Astros and moved to 61-50, within 3.0 games of the Blue Jays in the AL East. The Red Sox have won seven of their last eight games (22 of their last 30), and are the top team in the AL wild-card standings.
There are questions in the starting rotation, though. And Houck might have been a nifty answer to those questions.
“It’s unfortunate,” Houck said on Sunday via MassLive. “It sucks. It’s a fun team to watch. It’s a fun team to be around. And just knowing I’m not going to be a part of it for the rest of the year, it’s hard. But I know I’ll bounce back better from this.”
Red Sox Could Be Missing Houck Until 2027
It could be a while before he does. On the positive side of Tommy John surgery, pitchers can return within 12 months. But that time can run as long as 16 months, too, which means we might not see Houck back on a big-league mound until 2027.
He’s hoping things land on the short side.
“I know the minimum is probably around the 12-month mark, 12- to the 14-month mark,” Houck said. “With that being said, if everything goes right, 12 months from now, plan on being back out there, running out to the mound at Fenway. But you also got to do it the smart way, the correct way. And I gotta be honest with myself. If there’s a point in this where it doesn’t feel right and I need to take a step back, it’s what we’re gonna need to do.
“But I’m gonna do everything in my power to get back out there at this time next year and be essentially a trade deadline piece.”
Red Sox Rotation Hoping for Answers
Without Houck, the Red Sox will need some combination of a few things to happen down the stretch. They need new trade acquisition Dustin May to come through, and he will make his debut on Wednesday against the Royals. Or they’ll need scuffling starter Walker Buehler to pull his act together after after he allowed 21 baserunners in his last two starts, neither of which lasted past the fifth inning.
They’ll certainly need Brayan Bello to continue what has been the best stretch of his career–70.1 innings in his last 11 starts, with 79 runners allowed and a 2.83 ERA, though only a 5-4 record. He has 10 quality starts in those 11 outings.
Of course, most of all, they’ll welcome more of what they saw from Lucas Giolito on Sunday, as he was dominant in 8.0 innings at Fenway, allowing just one run on three hits and a walk. He is now 8-2 with a 3.57 ERA this season.
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