Red Sox pitcher's rehab paused due to new pronator strain

Tanner Houck is being evaluated by Red Sox team doctors after sustaining “a recurrence of the right pronator strain” the right-hander initially suffered back in mid-May, MLB.com’s Ian Browne writes.  Houck had pitched in five minor league games during his rehab assignment, but the Sox have now officially returned him from that assignment and kept him on the 15-day injured list in order to monitor this new problem.

More will be known once Houck is through a fresh round of tests, yet if he has suffered another strain, it might entirely set his rehab back to square one.  Given how he has already missed more than two months of the season, a similar recovery timeline could now threaten Houck’s availability to return before the 2025 campaign is over.

Even the best-case scenario of just a minor strain would still likely mean Houck will be sidelined for at least another month, adding to what has been a frustrating season for the right-hander.  Houck had reached the 30-day end point of his initial rehab assignment and was seemingly close to being activated from the IL before this setback arose.  The Red Sox will probably shift Houck to the 60-day IL at some point, which wouldn’t change his timeline (the 60-day window would start at the time of his initial placement on the 15-day) but it would allow the club to open up space on the 40-man roster.

A breakout 2024 season seemingly cemented Houck’s place in the Boston rotation, as Houck posted a 3.12 ERA and 6.5% walk rate over 178 2/3 innings.  Most of his secondary metrics didn’t back up that strong bottom-line ERA, however, and as Browne noted, most of Houck’s success came in the first half of the 2024 campaign.  The hurler’s late struggles then got several degrees worse in 2025, when Houck posted an 8.04 ERA in his first nine starts and 43 2/3 innings.

Getting Houck back before the trade deadline wouldn’t have really altered Boston’s plan to acquire starting pitching, yet getting a change to gauge Houck’s effectiveness in a start or two would’ve given the Sox a bit more information before jumping into the trade market.

Looking at Boston’s rotation depth, Hunter Dobbins and Kutter Crawford have already been lost to season-ending injuries.  Josh Winckowski has been sidelined by a flexor strain for roughly the same amount of time as Houck, and only just started a throwing progression, so Winckowski is probably a month away if all goes well in his rehab.  Patrick Sandoval had internal brace surgery on his elbow last June and has moved to the point of mound work, though early September could be his target date.

This leaves Garrett Crochet, Brayan Bello, Lucas Giolito, Richard Fitts, and the struggling Walker Buehler as Boston’s starting five.  Even with Kyle Harrison and Cooper Criswell available in Triple-A as backup options, getting another solid rotation piece in play at the deadline would go a long way towards helping the Sox reach the playoffs.  Boston is 53-46, as yesterday’s loss to the Cubs snapped a 10-game winning streak that had brought the Red Sox back into the postseason hunt.