Tanner Houck's Rehab Leaves Red Sox With a Decision to Make

The Boston Red Sox have spent the 2026 season undermanned.

There hasn't been a game this season in which the club was really at full strength. To kick off the 2026 season, Boston was without the services of guys like Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford and more. Then, as the campaign continued, more and more injuries popped up. Roman Anthony and Trevor Story both missed months of action, although they're both back on the field and thriving now.

Garrett Crochet hasn't touched a big league mound in a game since April 25, although he's trending in the right direction right now and could help once again before the 2026 season comes to a close. Johan Oviedo was a big get for the Red Sox this past offseason in the trade market, but he didn't make Boston's rotation out of Spring Training and then got hurt after one appearance out of the bullpen. He's also throwing bullpens and is trending up.

The 2026 Red Sox are a team that has weathered storm after storm, and yet they find themselves sitting pretty with an 80-66 record with 16 games to go in the regular season. Boston has a comfortable hold on the No. 2 American League Wild Card spot and will just keep getting better. Again, Story and Anthony already are back. The idea of Crochet returning is becoming more real by the day. A guy who is very interesting to watch right now is Houck.

What Should Boston Do?

Boston Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck — Worcester’s Tanner Houck faces Buffalo at Polar Park June 18. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

On Tuesday, the one-time All-Star kicked off a minor league rehab assignment with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs and tossed 2/3 of an inning and walked two batters and allowed one run on 20 pitches. Clearly, there was some adrenaline and rust there. Houck only threw eight strikes in those 20 pitches.

With Houck now officially on a rehab assignment, that means a 30-day clock kicked off on Tuesday. For a pitcher, that is the maximum amount of time a player can be on a rehab assignment before a team has to decide whether to activate the player or option them to the minors. For position players, that countdown clock is 20 days.

Houck has been working his way back with the idea of potentially helping down the stretch in the bullpen. After his outing on Tuesday, he's clearly at least a few away from being a serious option for Boston. When that day comes, the Red Sox will have to decide whether it's for the best to activate a guy who missed the entire season to this point while recovering from season-ending surgery, or roll with someone who has been on the big league club throughout the campaign. When Houck is rolling, he has the stuff that could make Boston's elite bullpen even better. But will he get back to full strength this fall? That's the question.

Boston's bullpen is going to have arms coming back. Houck and Crochet are both battling their way back. Tyron Guerrero will be back at some point. Plus, Justin Slaten is on the Injured List. When these guys start to return, that means guys already on the roster would have to be taken off. Alec Gamboa has a 1.33 ERA in 16 appearances for Boston this season. Do you take him off even though he's hot right now? Raymond Burgos would be an easy option to send down, but again there are multiple arms working their way back. What about Greg Weissert?

Again, if Houck can get to full strength he would be a better option than some of the guys Boston has on the roster already. But again, decisions will need to be made. The positive injury updates are great, but there will need to be decisions made in the not-so-distant future.

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