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Red Sox Give Positive Tanner Houck Update

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jacob Mountz | Last updated Jun 14, 2025 1:30 PM ET

A month after going down with a right flexor pronator strain, Tanner Houck is nearing a return. Alex Cora delivered a positive update on Friday after Houck completed an up-and-down session.

“Most likely he’ll be on a rehab assignment Wednesday,” he said. “Or have one more of these [live sessions] and then [go on rehab] at the end of the week. But he feels really good about it. Just watching it from the backstop, good fastball, good breaking ball, good split. Just repetitions. And hopefully he bounces back the right way, and he can actually go on a rehab assignment on Wednesday.”

In Cora’s comments, there are two bits of good news to dissect. First, the obvious: Houck will be ready for a rehab assignment next week. Secondly, there is Cora’s mini scouting report, where he gives Houck his approval on the righty’s pitch mix. Red Sox fans will vividly remember the uneasy feeling of having Houck take the mound. In 43.2 innings this season, Hock has pitched to a whopping ERA of 8.04 with 32 strikeouts.

Just last season, Houck was the most productive member of Boston’s rotation, finishing 2025 with a 3.12 ERA and earning his only All-Star nod. Houck himself believes his underperformance was due to injury.

“I wasn’t quite recovering in the same way that I know my body should,” Houck said. “I think at this point in my career, I know where I get sore and I need to get sore, what’s normal for me, but ultimately it was going into the wrong spots. I know for me, I’m a shoulder soreness kind of guy in the back of the scap region. And for me to get sore in the elbow like that is not normal.”

If Houck can return to form, he could be what salvages Boston’s middling season. As for how Houck is feeling now, he had this to say:

“I feel good out there with the body, delivery, and the arm especially. I feel a lot stronger and am better able to execute my pitches.”

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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