DETROIT — Red Sox manager Alex Cora outlined the next steps for struggling starter Tanner Houck on Tuesday — but he included a qualifier that left the club some wiggle room to make a change.
Asked if Houck would make his next start as scheduled, Cora replied: “As of now, yes.” For now, the rotation for this weekend’s home series against the Braves will include Garrett Crochet, Lucas Giolito and Houck — unless something changes.
“As of now, Tanner’s going to start the last game (Sunday),” Cora repeated. “Those are the guys.”
It’s clear the Red Sox have not fully ruled out unplugging Houck, who allowed 11 earned runs in 2 ⅓ innings in Monday’s blowout loss and has an 8.04 ERA so far this season. Because of Thursday’s off day, Boston could pitch righty Brayan Bello on regular rest if it so chooses. No such decision has been made yet, so Houck is still in line for Sunday’s game.
It’s clear, though, that the Red Sox are going back to the drawing board with the talented 28-year-old who has been tagged for 39 earned runs and 57 hits over 43 ⅔ innings so far in 2025.
“I was in a meeting today and there was a lot of stuff,“ acknowledged Cora. ”A lot. Against lefties, against righties. Throwing strikes, the delivery.
“We’ve just got to keep working with him. I think location with the off-speed stuff is important… I think it’s location. When location has been good, he has been good. When he has struggled, especially with the off-speed pitches going to the places we need to, he has been getting hit.”
Houck has posted two of the ugliest lines by a starting pitcher in Red Sox history in the last month. On April 28 in Tampa, he was tagged for 12 runs (11 earned) on 10 hits in 2 ⅓ innings. Monday’s line was almost identical, though there was no unearned run and he allowed nine hits instead of 10. He has a 3.92 ERA in his other seven outings combined.
“Obviously, you can not do this, but if you take away the (Tampa) start and the one yesterday, you have a solid big-league pitcher,” Cora said. “But that’s not how it works, because then you can say, ‘Take away Toronto’ (Houck has a 1.32 ERA in 2 starts against the Blue Jays this year) and he’s a below-average pitcher.”
Houck’s Baseball Savant page tells an ugly story. He ranks in the eighth percentile in baseball in expected batting average and in the ninth percentile in expected ERA. His 15.8% strikeout rate is good for the 13th percentile and his 21.6% whiff rate (compared to, say, Garrett Crochet’s 30.2% mark) is in the 26th percentile. Houck had zero strikeouts and just two swings and misses Monday.
“There’s no swings and misses,” Cora said. “It has been like that throughout his career, too. It’s not like this is something new. It hasn’t happened like in the past. You see the numbers. Certain pitches last year compared to this year, there’s a big difference. But you’ve got to trust the player. We’ve got to work together and hopefully, whenever he goes on the mound again, he can do the job.”
“A lot of conversations of what he can do for him to be better,” Cora said. “That’s where we’re at.”
