The Boston Red Sox trade deadline seemed to make no one happy. After winning 17 of 24 games in the month of July, turning their season around and putting themselves into a playoff spot, the widespread expectation was that chief of baseball operations Craig Breslow would try to take the team into the playoffs by making some significant upgrades — particularly to the pitching staff.
That didn’t happen. Breslow managed to pull off a couple of lower-level deals to help both the bullpen and starting rotation. But the big deal, such as a trade for Minnesota Twins ace Joe Ryan, never materialized. One top baseball insider, Ken Rosenthal, labeled the Red Sox trade deadline an “epic fail.”
Difficult News For Once-Promising Pitcher
On Saturday, with the deadline two days into the rear view mirror, the Red Sox pitching staff got more bad news, with a former key member of the rotation now requiring Tommy John surgery, the Red Sox announced.
The 29-year-old righty who was once seen as a top Red Sox prospect and potential future staff ace, will miss not only the remainder of the 2025 season but most or possibly all of 2026 as well.
Tanner Houck, the Red Sox first-round draft pick, 24th overall in 2018 out of the University of Missouri, appeared to be finally hitting his stride last season after three promising but uneven seasons in Boston.
All-Star Game Marked Start of Downturn
With a strong start the season in 2024, Houck headed into the All-Star break with a 2.54 ERA and 112 strikeouts in 117 innings.
The first-half performance was good enough to earn Houck the first All-Star selection of his MLB career, which began with three starts toward the end of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Houck recorded an eye-opening 0.53 ERA in that small sample size, enough to raise hopes that the Red Sox may have a future ace on their hands.
Over the first three months of 2024, Houck appeared to have arrived, but he slumped after the All-Star break, with a 4.23 ERA over 11 starts. Houck’s decline continued into his first, and only, nine starts of 2025. He slogged his way to a 2-7 record and 8.04 ERA.
His nightmare season culminated in a disastrous start on May 12 against the Detroit Tigers. Houck surrendered 11 runs in just 2 1/3 innings, including nine in the third inning before he was removed with just one out.
Houck First Sent to IL on May 14
Two days later, the Red Sox sent Houck to the 15-day injured list with what the team described as a “right flexor pronator strain.”
Houck was never able to return. On Friday, the Red Sox moved him to the 60-day IL, effectively eliminating any chance that he could return to help the team in 2025.
Now, as of Saturday, it appears Houck may not be around to help the Red Sox pitching staff in 2026 either.
Tommy John Recovery Time as Long as 18 Months
Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters prior to Saturday’s game against the Houston Astros that Houck will definitely undergo Tommy John surgery — a procedure to repair the elbow’s ulnar collateral ligament — but no date has been set, according to a report by Christopher Smith of MassLive.
Though recent innovations in medical technology have reduced Tommy John recovery times to as little as six months, most Major League pitchers expect to miss between 12 and 18 months before they can return to a level at which they can effectively compete.
Red Sox Dealing With New Bad News On Pitching As All-Star Faces Lengthy Absence