Tanner Houck’s difficult season came to an official end on Saturday.
Just before the Red Sox secured a 7-3 victory over the Astros, manager Alex Cora announced that Houck is set to undergo Tommy John surgery.
“Tanner will have Tommy John’s surgery,” Cora told reporters in a pre-game briefing. “He went to consult with Dr. [Keith] Meister in Texas, and that was the recommendation.”
Houck, who is 29, has been sidelined with a right flexor pronator strain since May and was placed on the 60-day injured list on Thursday following an unsuccessful rehabilitation attempt.
This season has been particularly frustrating for the right-handed pitcher, who recorded an unfortunate 0-3 record with an 8.04 ERA over nine starts.
In 2024, Houck had a much better performance, posting a 3.12 ERA with 154 strikeouts over 178 innings, which earned him his first All-Star Game nod.
He made attempts to return to the mound this year, appearing in five games between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester, but finished with a 1-3 record and a 5.74 ERA.
Originally drafted by the Red Sox as the 24th overall pick in the 2017 MLB draft, Houck has been playing in the majors since 2020.
Despite this setback, Cora remained optimistic about Houck’s recovery. “It’s been a tough year for him and for us,” he said. “But he’s great at rehab, puts in the effort, and when he comes back, he’ll be fine.”
Currently, Houck is the third starting pitcher for Boston this season, following Hunter Dobbins’ torn ACL in July and Kutter Crawford’s wrist surgery in June.
Cora noted that Crawford’s injury occurred during gameplay but emphasized that it was “not irresponsible.” He added, “It’s just an accident. It’s really unfortunate that it happened in this manner, but it wasn’t due to any carelessness.”
